The Pawn of Grisaia
by Curse of Whimsy
Summary: He wanted to try being normal. He might still be able to get his wish, but he'll have to settle for being a normal Devil with a normal amount of memories from dead people he's never met... Kazami Yuuji has begun to wonder if maybe he isn't very good at this. (Grisaia crossover from before the author knew how tags worked)
1. Ordinary Student

**So here goes my first ever fanfiction. I had bounced around the idea of a darker, less outgoing Issei for a while, and eventually realized that I was well acquainted with a different protagonist who fit the bill perfectly.**

* * *

It had taken several weeks for JB to find a school that met his requirements, though those in themselves hadn't been all that stringent.

Wanting to give being an 'ordinary student at an ordinary school' a shot wasn't exactly a complicated wish.

It was that the wish had been made by Kazami Yuuji that made it complicated.

In his home country of Japan, Kuoh Academy was settled upon as the best fit. It had only been co-ed for a few years, and a boy raised by women would probably do just fine as the far less represented gender.

Or he'd be in an ideal position to turn the overwhelming majority of his future peers into sobbing wrecks.

The odds were good, and specifying in _which way_ the balance tipped felt like something that would only give her a migraine.

She'd already had to bail him out of the local precinct over the phone, because he'd _walked_ across county lines with nothing more than a hiking pack and his school uniform.

In a fit of (blonde) insanity, JB had forgotten that Yuuji hated trains, and thus would view an over 175 km hike as a reasonable, logical alternative.

True, when Ichigaya called in, asking for their dog to be let out of its kennel, the matter had been handily resolved, but Yuuji wasn't the one getting to explain that little mess to the higher-ups.

That joy fell to his handler, which was her, and the other issues which were surely on their way would also be dumped on the lap of his legal guardian, also her.

JB didn't regret taking on that role, not in the slightest. Her paycheck probably regretted how much of it was a sacrifice on the altar of'unhealthy coping mechanisms'.

Like Advil, and beer.

A _lot_ of beer.

She was currently betting that her next phone call would come along if (when) Yuuji made his one of his teachers cry.

* * *

He'd found slipping into the meandering flow of students to be easy enough. No one paid him any mind in the hustle and bustle of early morning.

A somewhat tall young man with short black hair, bangs just long enough to cover most of his forehead.

Sharp black eyes and an athletic body not quite concealed by the Kuoh Academy's black blazer and slacks. Kazami Yuuji received more than a few envious, and admiring stares.

Of course, 'paying him no mind', if _he'd_ paid them any mind, would have been easily confirmed as totally, blatantly untrue, but that required Yuuji to notice things that didn't directly interest him.

He'd probably even pick up that most of the chatter was centered on some mysterious newcomer, but none of those thing involved the faculty office, or the redhead staring rather fixedly at him from the third floor, so they would have to wait.

Quite possibly forever.

* * *

When Rias caught sight of an unfamiliar face wearing Kuoh's uniform, it was nothing more than idle curiosity that let her gaze linger, one hand absentmindedly winding through her crimson locks.

In all likelihood, he was the exchange student Sona had mentioned.

Not that that in itself was all that noteworthy, even if he was kind of cute.

She was an "exchange student" herself after all, and also, she would freely admit, rather cute herself.

What really caught her attention was that her lingering eyes had drawn his attention rather decisively, and that a pair of dark eyes were burning a hole into her own blue.

The spell was broken as those black eyes lazily lowered, the strange boy passing her over without any visible reaction.

Whatever he was looking for, clearly wasn't her.

That one was one to watch, if for no other reason than the uncomfortable novelty of Rias Gremory being dismissed as something of little interest.

* * *

"Class, today we have a new student joining our ranks, mind introducing yourself?"

"Kazami Yuuji. I'll be in your care."

The subject in question stood almost to attention, before seemingly catching himself and relaxing a bit.

"Kazami here recently returned from abroad, so he's been away from Japan for a few years. He's only been on home soil for a few days, so make sure you help him out. Any questions for our new addition?"

Hands sprung up all over the room as everyone began talking at once.

"Where'd you move from?"

"How do you like it here so far?"

"What are your hobbies?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Yuuji spent a moment staring over the room, as if waiting for the flood of questions to die down.

"Canada. No complaints. Reading. No"

There was an expectant silence as the class waited for actual answers that an actual teenager was supposed to give, but when their expectations were met with a vacant, disinterested gaze, the boys grumbled and the girls shivered.

Yuuji was an attractive young man after all, and teenage hormones could easily interpret lifeless disinterest as brooding mystery.

For his part, Yuuji was wondering why all the women in his class struggled to maintain eye contact.

A mystery for another time, just like how that blonde near the front of the class was the only one _really_ paying attention.

Chatter died down to a dull hum as Yuuji was seated in a vacant desk by the window.

He stared out the window, idly letting his gaze drift towards an out-of-place reflection.

Something that didn't belong in such a peaceful setting was leaning against its desk, dull eyes staring absently out into the distance.

Oh, that was him.

A shame, that.

* * *

Apparently, it was traditional to invite someone to eat lunch with you using the qualifier, 'if no one had already asked'.

This tradition seemed to not take into account that this was his first ever lunch period within these halls, but tradition could be strange that way.

Speaking of strange, why hadn't anyone approached him for 'that' yet?

Was he unremarkable enough that they weren't even going to bother hazing him, or were they simply biding their time until after school?

Either could happen in the manga he'd read that one time.

... That was probably collecting a lot of dust.

Well, worst comes to worst, he could always try running through an intersection with toast in his mouth.

... Hopefully it worked with men as well.

Anyways, a lot of the guys were grumbling about some 'damn handsome', so maybe they were preoccupied taking out their frustrations on someone better looking.

That blonde guy at the front of the class seemed like a good candidate, and unlike Yuuji, the attention he was getting seemed to have nothing to do with being the next new thing.

The tiny white-haired girl that followed him, and dug holes into the back of his head with sharp golden eyes, was a bit of a bother, but she seemed more wary than hostile.

Could be the type that was inherently suspicious of strangers.

Could also be working up the courage to confess, but if she was, he'd pretend he hadn't noticed her immediately.

That was part of being a gentleman after all.

Seeking a buffer from the hustle and bustle that he frankly had no desire to be a part of, Yuuji eventually found himself on the rooftop of the school building.

Surprisingly, someone else seemed to have had the exact same idea.

The first thing that caught his eye was a long black ponytail, swaying in the wind like a silken ribbon.

The next thing to ensnare him were a pair of soft, radiant violet eyes, and a gentle, welcoming smile that shone his way as the door swung shut.

"Ara ara, who would have thought I'd have company in such an out of the way place?"

A soft, lyrical voice greeted him, and Yuuji had to fight down the feeling that he was ruining something beautiful.

The girl- no woman before him was easily the most beautiful Kazami Yuuji had ever laid eyes on.

That long, glossy ponytail reaching almost to her ankles, tied with an orange ribbon, and curves that would make any woman her age (any woman period, who was he kidding) very, very jealous.

On a fellow student no less, if the straining white button-down and dangerously swaying magenta skirt were anything to go by.

Yuuji had never seriously entertained the thought of thanking someone for designing a school uniform, but if he was going to thank anyone, it would probably have to be the person who thought an outfit including a _corset_ would be suitable for the women of Kuoh Academy.

Being confronted by such beauty wasn't nearly enough to make him hesitate, however. JB had worked hard to instill basic courtesy in him.

Huh, there was the scent of lilac and... ozone(?) on the breeze?

Strange combination.

"Company was what I was kind of trying to avoid."

JB had considered her hard work a complete and utter waste.

"My my, so cold, and we've only just met~."

A soft giggle and a slight tilt of the head. If anything, the dismissal seemed to encourage her.

"School is noisier than I expected."

"You say that like it's an unfamiliar thing...?"

"I'm used to smaller schools."

"Well I suppose I'll keep my voice down…?"

"Kazami Yuuji, class 2B."

"Himejima Akeno, 3A. A pleasure to make your acquaintance Yuuji-kun."

Her smile, if anything, became even more welcoming.

The curiosity in her eyes, less concealed.

"Akeno, then. I'll leave you to it."

"No honorific? How bold, I like it~ h-hey! Leaving already? And I thought things were going so well."

Yuuji could almost feel the slight pout in her voice.

"If you wanted company you wouldn't be on the roof."

"Oh, but that was before my cute little underclassman wandered up."

She giggled again, and Yuuji had to suppress the sudden urge to run.

He blinked the thoughts away and released the breath he had unwittingly been holding.

 _She reminded him of Asako, from the generous build, to the easy smile, to those brittle, empty eyes._

Yuuji did his best to ignore how his pulse quickened in time with her widening smile.

Looking down, it seemed his traitorous right hand had relinquished its grip on the door knob.

* * *

"Hey, do you have a girlfriend?"

The girl questioning Yuuji was a pretty one, with long black hair and violet eyes.

She reminded him of Akeno for some reason.

Less endowed to be sure, but he wasn't sure he'd ever meet someone who could _naturally_ win that contest.

Her uniform consisted of a dark red jacket with the letter 'P' embroidered in gold, with a white undershirt, a matching red bow, and a green, plaid skirt.

For reasons well outside of his limited comprehension, this had not been the first confession he'd received in the mere week he'd lived here.

Never-mind the fact that her school uniform didn't match any school in town (he'd familiarized himself), usually the location of choice was somewhere a little less open than a public footbridge.

But her smile seemed honest enough, and the weirdness he was picking up on wasn't the weirdness an 'ordinary student' would likely pick up on, and so far his attempts at that had made his skin crawl, so...

"Heeeyy, did you not hear me?"

She really did wear that pout well.

"No."

"No to which?"

The pout increased in potency, and Yuuji reigned in the inexplicable urge to tug on those cheeks.

"I don't have a girlfriend, if that's what you're asking."

Her sudden smile suggested that was the right answer.

"Then… please go out with me!"

the volume had picked up at the end of that question.

"Why?"

Whatever answer she'd been expecting wasn't that, but Yuuji hadn't caught the hint when every other girl had reacted to his blunt inquiry in identical fashion, so odds of him cluing in this time were low.

"..Because I've seen you walking home this way a few times and I think you're cute?"

A bit contrived, and more than a little odd.

Paranoia could wait.

An 'ordinary student' shouldn't be that suspicious, not unless they were concealing a history of abuse...

...Moving on.

He'd never been confessed to on a bridge before.

That seemed like something to focus on.

Probably.

Ah, what the hell.

"... Kazami Yuuji."

"Huh?"

"If we're going to date, we should at least introduce ourselves."

The blinding smile suggested that he'd finally managed to offer a favorable response to a girls incomprehensible affection, so he supposed that his broken clock was having the first of its two moments today.

It would be odd of him to turn down every confession, or else he'd get a reputation as being unapproachable (the irony was lost on him), so he might as well go with the one that stood out?

"I'm Amano Yuuma, pleased to meet you, Yuuji-kun. Oh I'm so excited thank you thank you!"

She swished her hips back and forth in giddy excitement, raven hair flowing in time with green skirt.

The genuine excitement in her voice helped mask the genuine guilt in his eyes, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow.

"Sunday then? Why don't we meet on the bridge here. Say... noon?"

"That would be great, sure!"

She chirped at him. That blinding smile never faltered.

"I'll look forward to it then."

"Mm!"

She bobbed her head excitedly.

They exchanged their numbers and parted ways, Yuuma waving excitedly as she skipped off.

Only when she was out of sight did his slight smile fade.

Kazami Yuuji was used to the sharp sting of regret, but the freshest wounds are always the hardest to ignore.

Asako had wanted him to live a normal life.

Asako had wanted him to be happy.

Asako would probably wonder what it was about the color violet that seemed so fragile and empty.

* * *

'Yuuma' let her smile fade and her feet still as she slipped around the corner.

He was just humoring her, but something told her that his attempt to humor her would be treated with the same gravity as a real first date.

A shame really.

He was kind of cute.

* * *

Yuuji pushed the pamphlet into his back pocket without really looking at it. He wasn't that interested in whatever that cosplayer was advertising, but he'd accepted it to be polite.

He adjusted the collar of his dark navy blazer, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

He had a date after all, and putting in the effort was important.

The jacket was complemented by a white T-shirt and simple, well-fitted slacks ending in leather loafers.

Yuuma waved happily from the bridge as he came into view.

She cut quite the adorable figure in her little purple dress that matched her eyes, with a short jacket to match her dark hair.

Yuuji offered her his arm like the gentleman JB had drilled him to be.

* * *

Lunch at a little cafe, where Yuuma ate her parfait with stars in her eyes.

Yuuji ate whatever fruity, colorful confection she'd teasingly put in front of him.

It probably had a name, and probably wasn't meant to have a coppery aftertaste.

* * *

Yuuma dragged him into a clothing store, trying on a few outfits, before doing a sudden 180 to use Yuuji as a live model.

She wasn't petty, so the jealous stares of the other women in the store had no influence on that little change of pace.

Just like Yuuji's raised eyebrow made it clear he hadn't noticed.

The day passed by in a blur, and as they walked into the park had in hand, Yuuji had just about worked up the courage to tell her he'd enjoyed the day.

The courage to pretend the whole thing hadn't made him feel faintly nauseous, and more than a little guilty.

To say something other than how he didn't understand her smile at all.

She had something to say, so he supposed he'd just lie to her afterwards.

They sat down together on the bench, and Yuuma's near constant smile strained just a little, whatever she'd been hiding finally beginning to bleed on through.

"Hey Yuuji, I really had a lot of fun today. So could I ask you a little favor?"

"Sure."

As long as it wasn't another date or another anything. As long as it wasn't accompanied by that damn smile.

She looked away for just a moment and sighed, a resigned, exhausted sound.

"Would you die for me?"

So faint it almost couldn't be heard.

His response was lost in a great gust of air as the clearing exploded with whirling feathers.

And 'Yuuma' was above him, gazing down at him with cold violet eyes.

Held aloft on massive black wings that had erupted from her back.

"For what it's worth, I really did enjoy our date. And it's nothing personal. Blame God for giving you His gift."

Yuuji hadn't moved.

An angel?

"Goodbye Yuuji."

She raised her hands, and a soft red light coalesced into something hard and sharp.

Yuuji remained still.

He was watching her with that same blank, almost bored expression that never quite seemed to leave him.

But inside, he was wondering if this time, it was okay.

After all, someone had sent an angel.

 _Was that you, Asako?_

Asako didn't answer.

The spear that pierced his heart and erupted from his back was answer enough, he supposed.

He smiled gratefully up at the angel.

The last thing he saw of the Angel were a pair of silvery trails, running down her cheeks.

The smile died as his vision began to fade.

* * *

 _I don't understand._

Why was she so sad?

 _Nothing of value has been lost._

She'd done the world a favor.

 _She'd done him a favor._

Red light bathed the clearing as Yuuma flew away.

 _Don't look so damn guilty._

Man, he must have screwed something up.

 _Hey, Asako..._

The crimson grew brighter, and brighter, as his eyelids grew heavier, and heavier.

 _Please... let me try that again._

* * *

The sun rose like it often did, and Yuuji stretched and rolled out of bed.

He was pulling the curtains open when the issue with his situation became apparent.

He gazed down at the scars covering his body, and noted that they were just that.

Scars.

No fresh wound- scratch that, no hole in his chest.

'Yuuma', if that was really her name, had revealed herself as an angel and _skewered_ him through the heart.

Well, he couldn't exactly check beneath the skin, but he certainly wasn't feeling dead.

It was the morning after his first date in Kuoh, and here he was, very much alive.

Not many people could say that after their first time being murdered, he supposed.

So, probably a dream.

A very vivid dream, that he'd had after getting home, to the house where he'd lived alone, and changed into the sweatpants he'd worn to bed.

After parting ways with Yuuma.

All of which he had no memory of, since there was a big gap in his memory, at least the size of the gap that should have been in his chest.

His head hurt, and the sunlight streaming through the curtain certainly wasn't helping.

...Dammit, he thought he'd really managed it that time.

Unfortunately, his heart had seen fit to beat the same mocking rhythm as always.

So in review...

He hadn't told JB about the date, and who else did he really talk to?

Akeno?

They'd only spent one lunch together. She was quite the school idol he'd found out, along with that redhead.

... Whatever her name was.

Okay, so Akeno mostly came to mind because she was pretty, and literally owned the only other name he could remember over the last week, so progress wasn't great.

Guess he'd just retrace his steps and see if he'd bump into 'Yuuma'.

... After school though. His headache wasn't getting any better, but he'd read that early absences were viewed with suspicion.

This time, the morning run didn't offer any clarity at all.

* * *

His headache left him at the school doors, but Akeno seemed rather taken aback when he bumped into her, he must have really looked like shit.

After the excuses, though, she was friendly enough.

It was kind of cute how she hard she had to work to restrain herself, and not fuss over a near stranger.

She was probably one of those 'big sister' types that were allegedly common among upper class-men.

... His sources needed review.

That little white haired girl followed him around some more at lunch.

Maybe it was just a normal day after all.

Seemed she hadn't worked up the courage to approach him yet, but Yuuji wasn't in the mood for another confession yet so that was alright.

Not while it was still unclear if the last one had really happened.

Part of him still tried to deny it, but dreaming an entire day in detail was a bit much even for him, Yuuji was at least confident that he wasn't _that_ far gone yet.

School flew by in a haze, leaving him to retrace his steps in reverse.

Most don't revisit the scene of the crime, but a crime scene and blood stains would definitely prove something had happened at the park.

Something 'definite' would be welcome right now, when he wasn't even sure he'd bled in the first place.

He had been a little short on time to examine the wound.

Heh, that seemed normal too, didn't it?

Little steps.

* * *

The park was as peaceful and empty as it had been the night before. No Yuuma, no blood stains-

A shiver ran down his spine.

He hurled himself to the side as something smashed into the cobblestone.

Yuuji whirled to find a spear of _blue_ light skewering the space he'd once stood.

His eyes followed the flight path, and found they didn't have to follow it very far.

"You're not Yuuma."

It sounded a bit like an accusation.

"Yuuma? Is that what she was calling herself? Raynare did love her little games."

The owner of the deep voice was floating above him on pitch-black wings that reminded Yuuji of a crow.

A thin, tall man in a long coat and wide brimmed hat. He curled his lip, as if he was looking down at something he'd scraped off his shoe.

Something less than an insect.

"I'm surprised you notice me, much less scurried out of the way. Cockroaches must be at least good at that much, I suppose. Now that you're a foul little Devil, however, this is just going to hurt even more."

"Don't sound so excited."

A devil?

A cockroach?

He was awfully creative with his name calling.

But that confirmed things. If Yuu- no, Raynare was real, then last night had really happened.

Since for whatever reason he was still alive, it seemed Asako hadn't decided to let him off just yet.

... Maybe next time.

* * *

She conjured the portal as fast as she could.

 _Of course_ he'd wanted answers. _Of course_ he'd gone looking.

What else would he have done?

Rias should have known better, but she honestly didn't think the Fallen Angel would be audacious enough to try again so soon.

And she had never imagined there would be more than one.

 _Naive._

So when Koneko reported that filthy _male_ crow flying overhead, she poured everything she had into making a portal directly to him.

Her connection to him through the Evil Pieces she'd put in him was so weak, she could hardly feel him at all.

Strange, given he'd needed every single one of her Pawn pieces.

At this rate, Koneko would be forced to intervene, and she wasn't ready, not for a Fallen Angel out for blood.

Not one, but two of her precious servants were in danger, all because she wasn't strong enough.

 _You failure._

She had expected the worst when she burst into the park, ready for battle.

Akeno was on her way, but there was no guarantee her Queen would make it in time.

No guarantee that-

The stench of blood and burnt flesh struck her like a hammer.

The cold, dark eyes of Kazami Yuuji followed up with equal force.

Scorched and bloody, wobbling in place...

Something mangled and dark clenched tightly in one fist, splattering a slow stream of crimson onto the cobblestone.

 ** _Loose black feathers drifting on the wind._**

Behind him, a limp shape lay face down on the ground, the only noticeable feature the crow-like wing extending from its back.

 ** _One wing short of a pair._**

Past that, a pale-faced Koneko, unharmed but with her back against the trees, legs quivering like mad as she stared on in mute horror.

The wet, feathered rag in his hand hitting the ground with hardly a sound, Kazami Yuuji straightened to his full height.

In spite of herself, Rias took a half-step back, crimson light staining the air as she braced herself.

Looming over her like some grim, blood-drenched specter, Yuuji took a single step forward, and collapsed face-first onto the ground.

* * *

 **So there's out first chapter down. One successful harem protagonist for another, but the similarities end quickly. Be warned, this is going to earn it's M rating. Yuuji doesn't always play nice. Read, rate and review, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**

 **And for those of you who don't know, Kazami Yuuji is the protagonist of Fruits of Grisaia, which I highly recommend.**


	2. The New Normal

**Second chapter away! Had some formatting issues the first time around, but I think I've got it figured out now. Thanks to all those who have read so far.**

* * *

Yuuji woke up feeling better than he had felt in ages.

His head was clear, his body wasn't even the slightest bit stiff, he felt so well-rested and..

There was a glossy curtain of crimson hair, draped across his chest.

Oh, it had been _that_ kind of night.

His movement must have caused her to stir, because she raised her head, cutely blinking a pair of bright blue eyes.

When they made eye contact, she blinked once more and promptly flinched.

His memory was a bit hazy, but he liked to think he had been trained well.

So the first words out of his mouth were the appropriate ones.

"You were amazing last night."

She blinked.

"Huh? No, I didn't do-"

He held up a hand.

"Have more confidence in yourself. I enjoyed it."

She blinked again.

"Yuuji-kun~. What exactly are you talking about~?"

He would have noticed the warning tone if he was more awake.

Which he wasn't.

"The sex of course."

Slowly, gradually, the dumbstruck girls face reddened to match her hair. She was trying to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.

A common problem.

"Throat dry? It happens. I'll grab you a glass of water."

He shuffled away, and then stepped over her and off the bed, ever the gentleman JB had raised him to be.

Just another one of JB's lessons, another one of her lessons she considered an abject failure.

"We didn't-I didn't-we-you."

He raised his eyebrow.

"I'm a virgin."

She finally got out.

"Really?"

Yuuji tilted his head to the side, puzzled.

".. Ah, I fell asleep too early? I apologize. We can try again if you'd like?"

"WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Then why are we both naked?"

"I WAS _HEALING_ YOU!"

"Naked?"

"YES NAKED!"

"Oh. Okay then."

If she didn't want to admit to anything, he'd be a gentleman and push no further.

Not everyone believed that sex was nothing to be ashamed about.

... She was glaring at him now.

Yuuji stared blankly back.

Come to think of it, she _was_ kind of familiar.

"Don't I know you?"

"I'm Rias Gremory."

Yuuji tilted his head, deep in thought.

"That name _is_ kind of familiar."

"We go to the same school."

"Are you in my class?"

"A year above you."

"Oh, do you know Akeno?"

Maybe Akeno had mentioned this Rias girl? He couldn't recall.

"Yes I know- how do you know Akeno but not me?"

"Because I've met Akeno but not you?"

"The entire school knows me!"

"The entire school except me."

"How!?"

"I'm new."

With each exchange she had deflated a little more. She let out a long sigh.

"I can't even be- you're not even going to ask how I healed you?"

"Rias, how did you heal me?"

Yuuji sounded very interested, interested enough that he might fall back asleep at any second.

"Don't force yourself to ask."

Rias was definitely glaring now.

"You're still naked. Are you sure we didn't-"

"YES I'M SURE!"

She was trembling from a combination of frustration and embarrassment, and now, the corner of her eyes were starting to glisten.

"Sorry Rias, I went too far."

"Mmm it's fine."

"Rias. Thank you for saving me."

All the sincerity he could muster.

She hadn't really meant it was fine.

No woman ever did.

"Hmph."

She crossed her arms and looked away.

A single eye turned back, accompanied by the faintest of smiles.

"You're welcome."

Trained well indeed.

* * *

He did eventually ask how she'd healed him.

Yuuji had also wanted to ask about the creepy angel, and what had happened to the less creepy Yuuma after she'd killed him.

Or, maybe why Rias was involved in the first place.

The little details were important, he felt.

Rias, however, was still just a little mad, so she told him she'd spend someone to fetch him, after school, and explain everything then.

Yuuji kept to himself just how well she wore that smug little smirk.

* * *

Classes passed by uneventfully, and as Yuuji was staring out the window, someone coughed politely beside him.

Standing at Yuuji's desk was the good-looking blonde boy from the front of the class.

"Oh, are you that 'damn pretty boy' they keep talking about?"

"Most of the time. You're pretty popular yourself, Kazami-kun."

The blonde chuckled.

"I am?"

A raised eyebrow.

The blonde chuckled once more, blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

Looking at him more closely, Yuuji could kind of tell why he was so popular.

Handsome, with fair skin and a mole under his left eye.

Slender, more so than Yuuji, but in a way that made him seem athletic, rather than delicate.

"Anyway Kiba, were you the one Rias sent to fetch me?"

"Correct. I wasn't even aware you knew my name Kazami-kun."

"Yuuji is fine."

"As you wish, Yuuji-kun."

* * *

The two boys walked the halls together, ignoring the gossip as the girls noticed the "Two Princes of Kuoh" walking together.

Yuuji ignored it because he wasn't interested in the chatter at all.

Kiba just had practice.

Kiba led him out to the back of the school yard, to a creepy, worn out old building tucked away in the corner.

Yuuji gave it a critical eye and decided to ask the obvious.

"Kiba."

"Yes Yuuji-kun?"

"Are you in a cult?"

"Haha, nothing so sinister I'm afraid."

"Okay then... if you're sure."

Yuuji said, giving him a dubious sidelong glance.

"Buchou is upstairs."

Kiba beckoned him forward with a sweep of his arm.

"Right."

They entered the building, which in contrast to its shabby exterior, was quite well-maintained on the inside, if a little dimly lit.

* * *

The sign on the door read 'Occult Research Club', and Yuuji's raised eyebrow spoke louder than he ever could.

Kiba's smile was just a little sheepish when he knocked on the door.

"I've brought him."

"Yes, come in."

A familiar voice.

... He'd probably heard it somewhere before.

Kiba opened the door, and they entered.

The room was covered in strange signs and drawings all over the walls.

Standing out most of all was the large, intricate red circle on the floor.

There was also a desk, and some sofas with small figure sitting on one of them.

In the back of the room, accompanied by the sound of running water…

"A shower?"

"Buchou has a fondness for them."

Another raised eyebrow, before belatedly turning his head to the figure on the couch.

A small, white haired girl.

She was familiar, though they had yet to actually talk.

She, Koneko, had just mostly just followed him around.

She was also looking at him with faint traces of suspicion, and some other emotion he couldn't quite place.

There was no need to put her on the spot, though.

Yuuji met her eyes, and gave her a small nod.

She seemed to relax, and gave him a small nod in return.

Understanding was important.

Satisfied at the successful introduction, Yuuji allowed his eyes to be drawn to the back of the room, and the sound of the shower turning off.

"Here, Buchou."

That voice was definitely familiar.

"Thank you Akeno."

Mystery solved.

A minute or two later, the curtain was pushed aside to reveal Rias in her uniform, still with damp hair and a towel around her neck.

Standing behind her was a smiling Akeno, hands clasped dutifully in front of her.

"Ara ara, if it isn't Yuuji-kun."

"Hello there, Akeno."

"There you are Yuuji-kun."

Rias spoke up.

"Welcome to the Occult Research Club. We'd like to welcome you-"

A pause for effect.

"-As our fellow Devil."

At that, there was a whoosh of air, as everyone in the room sprouted leathery, bat-like wings.

Including Yuuji.

"Huh."

Rias blinked and stared at him.

Akeno followed suit.

As did Kiba.

As well as Koneko.

Probably?

Yuuji stared back, trying in vain to interpret the sudden, inexplicable silence.

* * *

"Here's your tea."

A soft clink as the saucer settled down on the coffee table.

"Thanks Akeno."

Yuuji gave a slight nod.

"You're welcome Yuuji-kun~."

She winked at him with a sly smile, as he brought the cup up to his lips.

"It's delicious."

Yuuji gave a polite nod, before slowly taking another sip.

Akeno put a hand on her cheek and laughed softly.

"Ufufu glad to hear it Yuuji-kun."

She drew out that last word juuust a bit.

Their eyes met. They turned, and with matching smirks-

"Rias, are you okay? You're looking a little flushed."

Rias was a proper lady.

Thus, she would forever deny that her response to that innocent line of questioning was a frustrated scream.

* * *

"Anyways Rias, you were going to explain a few things?"

Yuuji asked, as if nothing had happened.

"Does nothing faze you? You've abandoned your humanity to be reborn as a Devil."

Rias was pouting again, arms crossed under her breasts.

"Pretty sure I was dying."

"I reincarnated you."

Another pause for effect.

"... As my servant."

"Oh, that makes sense."

Yuuji crossed his arms and gave a knowing nod, as if everything had fallen into place.

"...Yuuji-kun is quite adaptable it seems."

It was unclear if Kiba meant that as a statement or a question.

"Strange."

Koneko, as if it explained everything.

To be fair, it probably did.

"Well, enough playing around for now."

Yuuji said, as Rias pouted again.

"So tell me, you brought me back to life as a Devil, and in exchange I'm your servant?"

"That's exactly it, your wish summoned me, and I used my power to save your life."

"'Summoned you'?... So that weird paper I got from that cosplayer?"

Rias blinked at that.

"Cosplayer-? Ah, my disguised familiar."

"So then what are my duties to be ... Ma'am?"

Straight to business, as Yuuji responded in a clear, almost formal tone of voice.

Rias blinked, taken aback at the sudden shift.

"... Ma'am? No no, you can call me Buchou. Mind if I call you Yuuji?"

Yuuji shrugged indifferently, so Rias carried on, taking that as acceptance enough.

"The Occult Research Club is a cover, which you'll be joining."

"Yes, Buchou."

His tone remained unchanged.

Rias' smile was apologetic.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry for reincarnating you without the chance to hear your wishes on the matter."

Yuuji shook his head.

"I'm not so ungrateful as to blame someone for saving my life."

 ** _... Though a small part of him wanted to._**

Blissfully unaware, his new owner's smile came more easily that time.

"And don't worry about being a servant. I treat my servants as family, I want you all to be happy."

"Then you-"

He bit the words off before they could escape.

"Yes Yuuji?"

That hopeful gaze was more painful than Yuuji cared to admit.

"No, it's nothing."

She was smiling. They were _all_ smiling.

Yuuji couldn't quite bring himself to ruin that.

* * *

From there, Rias explained that Devils had been fighting against Fallen Angels since ancient times for control over the Underworld, and of a Great War between Devils, Fallen Angels, and Angels.

The the ones who attacked him had been Fallen Angels, hence the black feathers.

Yuuji noticed that she hadn't explained why the Fallen Angels had attacked _him_ , but Rias was getting into her stride and he had teased her enough.

So he'd exercise a bit of patience.

... Where did she get those glasses from?

On second thought, maybe she'd had too much fun.

Interrupting her spiel about Sacred something or others-

"So what do I have to do with any of this? And why'd Yuuma go after me? I'm a normal human."

Though a little put out by the interruption, Rias decided to push things along.

From beside her desk came Akeno's soft giggle.

"You were just unlucky. Most possessors aren't even killed."

"Possessors of-?"

"A Sacred Gear."

Rias declared, standing up as she did so.

Yuuji remained silent.

Rias deflated yet again, disappointed at yet another lacking reaction.

"'Ahem'. A Sacred Gear is a power granted to humans. You must have been approached after giving off a weak response. There are several methods available for detecting dormant Gears, and the Fallen are the leaders in such techniques."

Kiba piped up then.

"Most of these Sacred Gears aren't of much use to the supernatural world. Many of the famous people throughout history had those sorts of Sacred Gears. But some few are far more dangerous, and those rarely go ignored."

Rias caught his attention once more.

"Hold out your hand, and imagine the most powerful weapon you can think of."

Yuuji gave a thoughtful frown.

A rocket launcher, maybe?

No, there was no way a Stinger was practical in a room like this.

In a room like this- a dull, shimmering dust rolled off Yuuji's hand.

Something solid took shape, and soon he was holding the standard-issue sidearm.

The Glock 17.

* * *

"Eh? A gun?"

Everyone seemed a bit surprised.

"This will do."

Yuuji seemed content, however.

"Ara, why a gun?"

Akeno was the first to ask.

"We're in an enclosed space. Any smaller, and I'd just use a knife, or nothing at all."

Yuuji spoke casually, as if commenting on the weather.

"…."

"Didn't he just say something worrying?"

Kiba said, smile a tad strained.

"Strange."

Koneko said, as if it explained everything.

To be fair, it probably did.

"Summoning a gun? I know of Sacred Gears that summon swords-"

Yuuji noticed Rias glance Kiba's way-

"But guns are a new one... I'll have to research into it. It's design isn't particularly distinctive though, so it might take a while... we may have to experiment."

"Anyways, that is your Sacred Gear. From now on it will appear whenever you need it. Just call it forth and it will appear."

"Now, onto our next our next order of business. As a Devil-"

Rias wore _that_ smug smile just as well as the last.

* * *

Akeno was the first to break the silence in Yuuji's wake.

"Ara ara, vindictive aren't we? Our poor kouhai~."

Yuuji had left the clubroom to begin his new life, and more importantly his new work.

Rias still had on that same smug smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Her grin widening was coincidence, thank you very much.

"I'm surprised though. He just went with it, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary."

Kiba didn't quite seem sure what to make of it, so Rias turned to her youngest peerage member next.

"And you Koneko? You're the only one who's seen him in action."

"Scent of blood."

Koneko frowned and looked to the floor.

Rias smiled patiently, allowing her taciturn Rook to gather her thoughts unimpeded.

"Smells like blood and iron... scary, but... directed? Not scary towards... us?"

Koneko suggested hesitantly.

Better than she'd expected, honestly, after their first encounter.

A slight turn of her head, and Akeno took the hint for what it was.

"Having another cute underclassman to tease will be nice. But it seems like he'll be doing most of the teasing~"

"Don't sound so excited."

 _Exactly_ what she'd expected.

* * *

The two older girls were now alone in the classroom, so she, Akeno, decided it was the ideal time to ask the question she'd _really_ wanted to ask.

"It's not like you to apologize so easily. So tell me, what's really going on, Rias?"

Rias let out a long sigh, leaning back to stare at the ceiling.

"I'm fine it's just… I just… I didn't really have time to give Yuuji a choice, sure. But did I really give any of you a choice?"

This again, was it?

Akeno sighed softly before wrapping her arms around her friend from behind, resting her chin on Rias' shoulder.

"None of us think that way. I'll repeat it as often as I need to but, we have nothing but gratitude towards you. You offered your hand when no one else would, took us in when the world had abandoned us, and you've tried so hard to give us back the happiness we lost."

Akeno believed every word, and she'd say it as many time as she needed to until her best friend and King did as well.

"...I'm not sure if Yuuji had any to lose in the first place."

... Did anyone see where that determination of hers just went?

She'd like it back.

"W-what do you mean? Like I said, he seems to have plenty of fun teasing you."

Akeno would still try to lighten the mood, even if just a little.

Her smile felt forced, even to her.

"Scars."

Rias trembled in her embrace.

"Rias, what do you mean by scars?"

The arms around her shoulders tensed ever so slightly.

"You know we need skin-to-skin contact for the healing to be most effective."

Rias took a deep breath.

"Akeno, he has scars who's sources I can barely even _guess_ at."

Rias paused, and took the opportunity to return the embrace, gripping on to her friend tightly.

With the next words, Akeno tightened her grip further as well.

"I have no idea what kind of life he's lead. His home life fell apart after his older sister died and both his parents were found dead... Kazami Yuuji vanished for _years_. There are no records of where he's been or what he's been doing, but those scars are impossible for someone with a quiet life."

A heavy silence fell.

As it stretched on, Akeno hummed thoughtfully, rallying for one last attempt to lighten the mood.

Or, at least distract Rias.

She lifted her head to speak softly in her King's ear.

"You mentioned skin-to-skin?"

Rias knew where this was going.

Akeno couldn't see her roll her eyes, but she didn't need to.

They'd been friends a long time.

"Why don't you share all the _fun_ little details~?"

* * *

Deals with the Devil it seemed, had never gone out of style.

Nonetheless, Yuuji was a bit grateful that human souls were no longer the asking price.

JB would never let him live it down, and if Asako was still around, she'd buy him a little red pitchfork for his birthday.

 _Every_ birthday.

In spite of Rias' (admittedly justifiable) desire to get even for all the teasing, Yuuji had real no complaints about the grunt work he was doing.

Handing out flyers was a cakewalk compared to scrubbing hallways with a toothbrush.

His new master had clearly never been through basic.

On that note though, he should really talk to JB.

Becoming a Devil was quite possibly a 'conflict of interests' with Ichigaya, so he'd have to see if they could work something out.

Alas, that seemed troublesome, and he needed his problems to sound believable before he could dump them on her desk.

She was his handler after all.

There was an order to things that needed to be followed.

Come to think of it though, not a lot had actually changed.

The chain of command had some new faces, but he was still expected to toe the line and follow orders, whatever they may be.

Given the life-time commitment, outliving his usefulness would probably involve an 'accidental death' as well.

There was even a chance for promotion, as it seemed rank was very important to Devils.

Ignore the real-life mythology and the hocus pocus, and it was business as usual.

Yeah, Yuuji could work with this.

* * *

The sun was just setting by the time he'd finished handing out flyers and returned home.

Yuuji was beginning to wonder when they'd begin training.

Clearly, the world of the supernatural was a violent one.

The hole he'd had in his chest seemed evidence enough, though he'd keep to himself his relief that he hadn't imagined that encounter.

He wasn't sure what training constituted for Devils, but if he was being honest, most of his frustration came from a sense of anticipation.

After all, he was in a world where magic was real, and judging by the spear that had started this whole mess, a viable, perhaps even preferred form of combat.

Maybe Yuuji would be able to learn magic as well?

Learning new things was always fun.

For the first time in a long while, something like excitement was tugging the corner of his lips in an upwards direction.

With those thoughts in mind, Yuuji stood in the small living room, and attempted summoning his handgun once again.

The faintest chill in his right hand, and a whisper of dull grey brought the gun to his hand.

... Safety on.

... Magazine loaded.

For all intents and purposes, it seemed he had a loaded Glock in his hands.

On a whim, he expelled the magazine, letting it fall to the ground, and reaching to the side where spares would be clipped on in more conventional circumstances.

The falling magazine dissipated before hitting the ground, and a new one was in his hand, heavy enough to seem full to capacity.

He slammed it into place, then immediately ejected and repeated.

After about a dozen tries he was confident that the process was reliable, and despite said process using his 'demonic energy' as Rias had put it, he didn't notice any physiological changes outside of the slight chill in whichever hand did the summoning.

No notable downsides.

Yet.

A honk of a car horn snapped him out of his musings.

He went back to what he was doing.

Another honk.

Still busy.

A pounding on the door.

Still busy.

"Y.U.U.J.I."

….He should probably let JB in.

"You'll wake up the neighborhood."

A beautiful blonde in a dark woman's business suit was pouting on his doorstep, tapping her glossy black high-heels impatiently.

On the road behind her was a sleek yellow Mustang.

"Were you ignoring me?"

The blonde glared as he nodded without a hint of shame.

"You were being noisy."

"So harsh!"

The pouting intensified.

"What do you want JB?"

JB let out a sigh.

"Cold as ever, I see. Would it kill you to just give me a nice greeting for once?"

"The odds don't seem in my favor there."

"... Or the snark?"

"Now you're just being difficult."

Rolling her eyes, JB stepped up closer, a sly grin replacing her earlier weariness as if it had never existed.

"I came to check up on you. How's being an 'ordinary student at an ordinary school'?"

JB leaned forward, enunciating the phrase with pokes to his chest.

"No complaints."

A long sigh.

"Of course I'd have to drag any info out of- WAIT! I almost forgot! You entered the city on foot didn't you? After I bought you a train ticket!?"

She stamped her foot in a lady-like fashion.

It was a testament to how elegant JB normally was that she could pull that off.

"I hate trains."

JB slumped momentarily at that, gaping at him.

"What kind of idiot walks several hundred kilometers for a dumb reason like that!? I'm the one who got an earful from the higher-ups when you got arrested!"

... Elegant around anyone other than Kazami Yuuji.

.

.

.

"Your eyes are saying 'This woman is a huge pain'."

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

Yuuji jerked back in genuine surprise, unwittingly giving the knife that one final twist.

JB actually looked a bit hurt at that, so after a moment, Yuuji sighed and apologized.

"No, I went overboard. Sorry JB."

"*Sniff*... As long as you understand. I'll get in touch with you later."

She swept away with an artful flick of her hair.

"Good night, JB."

She couldn't see his slight smile, but she didn't need to.

They'd known each other a long time.

* * *

For the next several days, Yuuji would meet Rias in the ORC building and receive a bundle of fliers.

He'd then spend the next several hours handing them out.

When Thursday rolled around, his phone began to buzz right as he was heading to the ORC.

Not his personal phone, but the small, nondescript flip phone he kept with him at all times.

His work phone. JB spoke to him from the other end.

"You've got work to do. Pick-up from home in one hour."

"Understood."

A quick text to Rias;

 _Y: Part-time job called me in last minute. I'll catch up tomorrow._

 _R: You have a part-time job? What is it?_

 _Y: Later._

 _R:_ -

Yuuji had already put his phone away.

* * *

A long black case from under the bed.

A simple combination lock.

9029.

Business as usual.

* * *

"Where exactly were you last night?"

In the club room, Rias was casually sitting, with one leg crossed, atop her desk.

"Work."

Yuuji wore his typical blank expression.

"Which is…?"

"I clean up 'garbage'."

"So... a cleaning company?"

Yuuji gave a nod.

There was probably more to that, she felt, but how bad could it be?

More importantly, she was hesitant to push the issue.

Yuuji might have seemed adaptable, but he also seemed... closed off.

There was a wall around her newest servant, and thoughtless attempts to tear it down might only serve to drive him away.

-Her troubled musings were cut short as the other members stepped into the room.

As the usual pleasantries were exchanged, Rias, took a second to gather herself before turning to Yuuji once more.

"You won't be handing out fliers tonight. Kiba received two requests for the same time, so you'll be taking one of them."

Kiba smiled.

"Thanks for your help, Yuuji-kun."

"So what am I going to be doing exactly?"

Yuuji turned back to Rias.

"You'll step through the summoning circle to the clients location. Akeno will link it up to the summoning circle on the pamphlet. Once there, you'll fulfill their request and accept suitable compensation. Kiba is popular with middle-age business women and housewives, who tend to request cooking, cleaning, or the occasional massage."

She handed him a small device.

"Not all wishes were created equal, and not all people were either. This will judge the relative value of their desire. I'll let Akeno take it from here."

Akeno had stepped up to the magic circle in the center of the room.

Pale yellow sparks danced from her hand, shifting to red as they linked up with the circle on the floor.

"Hold out your right hand, Yuuji-kun."

As he did so, red light flared on the back of his hand, as a smaller version of the circle on the floor appeared there.

"For servants like us, it's something like the Gremory family crest. It will respond to your demonic energy."

With a raised eyebrow, Yuuji turned to Rias, who was already dreading the question to come.

"You tattooed me in my sleep? Which country is this again?"

"It's part of the process of reincarnating you."

She could feel her eyebrow twitching yet again.

"Whatever you say."

The twitching intensified.

"Get in the circle."

"Roger."

The entire peerage rose to their feet to offer him good luck, even Koneko.

As red light swirled into the air, engulfing Yuuji in its glow, he decided that maybe, just maybe he could get used to this.

* * *

When the light faded, he was standing in a softly lit living room, with leather couches, and a small, minimalist coffee table.

Sitting across from where he stood was a petite woman with a wavy light brown hair, wearing a light blue women's business suit, with a pencil skirt and dark nylons.

She had kicked off her pumps and was loosening the collar of her white shirt.

She looked to him with one eye open.

"Oh? You're not Kiba-kun. Who might you be?"

Yuuji gave a polite bow.

"Kazami Yuuji, at your service."

She looked him up and down before staring into his dark eyes for a moment.

If her sultry smile was any indication, he had passed the unspoken test.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Well then Kazami-kun, I'm Irusu Kiyoka, and I'll be in your care. Hope you're as good at _relieving stress_ as Kiba-kun~."

Yuuji knew exactly where this was going.

"Irisu-san."

"Hmmm?"

She smiled languidly at him, fluttering long lashes.

"The couch or the bed?"

* * *

It was well after dark when Yuuji returned to the clubroom, but Rias was still there to greet him with a smile.

"So? How'd it go? Did you manage to make your first contract?"

"The operation ended in failure. I'll accept my punishment with grace."

Yuuji spoke in an oddly serious tone, even straightening to give a sharp salute.

Rias merely tilted her head, confusion clouding her features for moment before her smile returned.

"Ara? Punishment? No need for that, I have faith that you'll do better next time. Tell me, any idea where you went wrong? What was the request?"

"I went overboard. She passed out before we could sign the contract."

He still had that same serious expression and had yet to relax his posture.

Rias was just as confused, but now a slight frown had replaced her smile, bringing with it a niggling sense of unease.

"Went overboard? What exactly were you doing?"

"Stress relief?"

Yuuji cocked his head to the side.

"Stress relief?"

Rias parroted, as she too cocked her head to the side.

"Taking care of her needs."

Yuuji gave a few nods of his head.

"Taking care of…"

"Yuuji you didn't..?"

Rias was beginning to feel a sinking sensation.

Yuuji tilted his head once more and raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that our job as Devils?"

Rias flinched.

Yuuji was the one confused now.

' _I can't believe he thought that was normal. What have I made him do? Rias, you idiot!'_

Yuuji had no idea what she was thinking.

Why was Rias so freaked out over a back-rub?

When he said as much, he was a bit taken aback to find her suddenly in his face, shaking her finger and sternly berating him for 'making her worry'.

If that was enough to make her angry, Yuuji had no intention of telling her what had happened _after_ the back rub.

...Maybe he wasn't doing the same job as Kiba after all.

* * *

... She hadn't wanted to kill him.

 _But she didn't have a choice._

... He didn't seem like he really wanted to go on a date with her.

 _A smile that never reached his eyes._

... He was nothing but kind. Even though she could tell.

 _He knew she was lying._

She had hoped that maybe, somehow, he would put up a fight.

He was just a human but still... maybe a struggle would ease the guilt.

 _But Yuuji just sat there._

His first real smile, and it had been when she had just asked him to die.

He smiled…

 _As if all his prayers had been answered._

She'd had to do it.

 ** _Hadn't she?_**

* * *

The woman was tall and slender, dressed in a maroon suit jacket left open in such a way that her assets seemed concealed by more luck than anything else.

A short, matching skirt bared her long, pale legs to the moonlight as her hair, the same deep blue of the ocean, drifted behind her like a river.

One hazel eye was concealed by her bangs, but the one left visible glittered with a barely contained worry.

Raven-feathered wings carried her up onto the roof, towards the source of her worries.

Raynare remained silent at her approach, but she could see the shaking of her shoulders.

Sadly, nothing out of the ordinary.

As Kalawarner landed on the rooftop with a soft click of her high-heels, she bent forward to reach out slowly to the younger girl, sitting in silence, huddled over herself and shivering.

Raynare beat her to it though, _throwing_ herself at her taller friend and burying her face in Kalawarner's chest.

Kalawarner wrapped her wings around the two of them like a curtain.

Trying her best to muffle the noise as quiet sobs turned to agonized wails, Raynare's tears ran into the valley of her chest and stained the fabric beneath.

She bit her lip until it bled, a red trail running alongside the clearer trails down her cheeks.

Just a little longer.

She could only hope one of them didn't break before then.

* * *

What felt like an eternity later, Raynare had wound down to the occasional, shuddering sob.

Kalawarner hadn't let go in all that time, but she could still feel Raynare shivering in her arms, the smaller girl's white-knuckled grip forming bruises she'd never be allowed to see.

It wasn't the first time, so why change things now?

Though if that was from pent-up emotion, or the fact that she was still wearing the thin dress and jacket from her 'date', Kalawarner couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry Kala... I'm so sorry. I just can't keep doing this. How many people have died because they _might_ be a threat? I just... can't get it out of my head. He just... s _miled_. How could he look at me and just _smile_!?"

"I know, I know. But you did what you had to, and we're almost done."

She rubbed soothing circles into her friends back as she continued to speak in a soft tone.

Mentioning the targets obvious death wish would do no good here.

It wasn't like she hadn't practiced this conversation.

Raynare had barely slept in days.

"None of the gears we've gone after are as big as Twilight Healing. If we pull this off, all the Grigori will acknowledge our worth. Or..."

Kalawarner paused. This was the dangerous part, but she had Raynare's attention now.

"When the ritual is complete, we run. The other two won't chase us because they'll have Twilight Healing. They can say whatever they want, they can call us traitors, they can say we died. And no one will care to look for us because we aren't _nearly as valuable as Twilight Healing."_

Truthfully, it stung her pride a bit to admit that, and Raynare felt it too, if the way she wilted against her was any indication.

She pushed on, though, because there was no other choice.

"Do you really think they'll just forget about us?"

Kalawarner forced all the confidence she could into her voice.

"I do. Our magpie of a leader has always been far more interested in _things_ than _people._ As long as we don't stand out, he'll forget us in favor of the next shiny thing."

"You really think it'll be that simple?"

Her question was tinged with more than a little desperation, but at least Raynare was smiling now.

A strained, fragile smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Azazel was always a lazy bastard. Kokabiel might hate traitors with a passion, but he hates boring fights with an even bigger passion."

To Fallen with only one set of wings like her and Raynare, a ten-winged Cadre like Kokabiel might as well have been the Father himself, for how big the gap in power was.

It was in no way, shape or form a _good_ plan.

It was just the best chance they had, perhaps the best chance they would _ever_ have.

Just the tiniest ray of hope that Raynare could cling to, just one reason to carry on.

As the girl in her arms finally drifted off into a fitful, exhausted slumber, Kalawarner drew her in closer and reaffirmed the promise she'd made herself.

As long as Raynare would carry on, Kalawarner would carry on as well.

After all, the only thing she had left to believe in...

Was right there in her arms.

* * *

For Yuuji, this was familiar territory.

Rias had gathered the peerage for a request to take care of a 'Stray Devil'.

A Devil who had turned on their master.

Yuuji knew _exactly_ what happened to stray dogs.

Apparently, Stray Devils were a big enough of a concern that even Angels, both pure and Fallen, would go out of their way to hunt them down without mercy.

No one liked a rogue asset, he supposed.

This one had wandered into the territory of Rias to feed, so it's master had requested that Rias do the honors.

It had been luring humans into an old abandoned warehouse.

First mistake.

Rumors were starting to spread.

Last mistake.

Yuuji was feeling a bit nostalgic, all of a sudden.

It was midnight, classic night-op.

He appreciated being able to see clearly, without any extra gear, though.

Perks of being a Devil... maybe Ichigaya should look into that.

Entering in boldly through the front did feel a little weird, though, and he also wondered why they were all still in their school uniforms.

Maybe they were sending a message, making an example?

No... there was such a thing as _too_ confident.

Rias was in charge, though, so he'd keep quiet.

"... Fresh blood."

Koneko must have had a sharp nose.

Rias decided then to begin her explanation.

"Yuuji, I want you to observe only. We haven't had the time to see what you can do with your Gear, so for now just watch how Devils fight."

"Of course, you're all living examples of how Devils reincarnate humans as their servants. But the basis for that system is actually a game I'm sure you're familiar with."

She missed the incredulous look that Yuuji shot her.

"Namely, chess. The leader of the peerage takes the roll of the King, and imbues what we call Evil Pieces into their chosen servants to create powerful new Devils."

Akeno spoke up next.

"Too many of the purebred Devils died in the Great war. With their low birth rates, reincarnation is the only way to keep the population from dwindling further. The properties of the Evil Pieces are an attempt to insure quality increases with quantity."

Yuuji would admit freely admit he was interested in the why's and how's, but honestly?

They were closing in on their target.

He found it _baffling_ that they thought _now_ was the best time to start the history lesson.

Was this some kind of field trip?

Though, he honestly doubted they were being sent after any sort of significant threat.

Everything about Rias screamed "VIP".

Those 'low birthrates' likely made pure-bloods like her even more precious.

Phrases like the 'the cornered rat will bite the cat' existed for a reason, though.

... Well, not like it was his place to speak up anyways, as per the norm.

Following the chess theme, though, Yuuji had already had a good idea of who fit what roll.

Except for Koneko.

'Tiny, quiet and likes snacks' were not characteristics of any chess piece he knew of.

He was probably a Pawn, though.

Pawns had their uses, so assuming he was correct, he wasn't too bothered by it.

He just needed to keep the _important_ pieces alive.

* * *

From the back of the warehouse, something massive stirred.

"I smell something disgusting. But I also smell something delicious. Is it sweet, or is it sour?"

"Stray Devil Viser. We've come to eliminate you."

Rias declared with a sweep of her hand.

"Ehehe... AHAHAHAHAH!"

A woman's hysterical laughter, underscored by the snarling of some massive beast.

A topless woman drifted from the shadows, floating high above.

A massive clawed foot stomped heavily into view.

... Not floating then.

Her lower body was that of some massive beast, covered in dark shaggy fur.

Thrashing around behind her was a slender, serpentine tail.

In her hands was clutched some kind of crude spear.

Viser was bigger than an elephant... probably meaner and hungrier, too.

Rias spoke up again.

The air thrummed with power as she spoke with all the authority granted to her.

"Turning on your master to rampage as you please! In the name of Duke Gremory, your life is mine!"

"Foooolish little girl! I'll dye your skinny body as rrrred as your hair!"

Rias simply smirked, unimpressed.

"Yuuto, if you would?"

"Understood."

Kiba blasted forward in a great rush of air.

Yuuji could barely follow his movements.

No civilian would be able to, nor Viser, it seemed.

"Yuuto's position is a that of a Knight. It grants them increased speed, and combined with their weapon of choice…"

Viser raised her spear above her head and plunged it forward blindly.

Bad move.

The spear slammed into the ground.

A glint of steel.

Viser reared back with an agonized screech, leaving her severed arms and spear on the ground below.

Kiba had reversed his direction to fall back to the others.

... Holding a bloody long-sword in both hands.

"A sword? An edged weapon with speed like that must be hard to deal with."

Yuuji went silent for a second.

"Sacred Gear?"

Kiba looked surprised at the question, but nodded.

" **Sword Birth** is it's name. Just as it sounds, I can create swords with my demonic energy at will."

Viser gathered herself for a charge, apparently the loss of her arms was more a source of irritation than anything else.

Note to self, aim for the head.

Second note to self, double tap.

Repeatedly.

Unconcerned, Rias pointed forwards.

"Koneko."

"Yes, Buchou."

Koneko met the charge of the far larger beast.

While he expected some form of plan, Yuuji was a still a bit surprised when the Stray Devil was the one to tumble back and collapse.

An enormous stomping foot, caught by a tiny Devil and hoisted into the air.

"Koneko is my Rook. As strong as a mountain and just as tough. Viser could strike her all night and be no closer to victory. Of course, she doesn't have all night."

Laughing, Akeno circled off to one side with a playful swing of her hips.

"Ara ara, my turn to play with our new friend~."

"Lastly, Akeno is the Queen. My right-hand, with all the power of Bishop, Knight, and Rook."

"She excels in using her demonic power to wield the elements of nature, with a preference for lightning, and..."

Akeno raised a hand to the sky, approaching the fallen Devil.

"My my, so energetic even now?"

A bolt of lightning crashed down from above, causing the monster to scream and twitch convulsively

"Oho? Looks like you can still take more."

Again, and again, lightning struck, wielded by dark-haired Devil with a bewitching smile on her lips, and a cruel, savage light in her breathtaking eyes.

... She'd never seemed more beautiful.

"Sadist."

Yuuji and Koneko said together, Yuuji slapping a fist to his palm as he spoke.

"The ultimate sadist, as cruel to her enemies as she is kind to her allies."

Rias spoke up again.

Lightning crashing from the sky as if to emphasize her every word.

"She does tend to get a little worked up in fights but, she never forgets her comrades even then."

Yuuji had notice that actually.

Akeno had circled around just enough to keep the rest of the peerage in her peripheral vision... she was too busy playing for that to actually mean much, though.

"Ufufufufufu! How much lightning can you take, Miss Monster? Don't go dying yet! Buchou is the one to take your life!"

Yuuji was looking at Rias with a raised eyebrow and an expressionless face.

"D-don't look at me like that! She's nothing but kind to the people she cares about. She said you were cute, so I bet she'd spoil you lots if you ask."

Rias defended her Queen.

"No wonder we're getting along."

.

.

.

"Eh?"

Akeno continued toying with the monster, laughing happily.

Her cheeks were starting to get just a little flushed, and her breathing was getting just a little huskier.

"That's enough now Akeno."

Rias strode forward.

"Yes Buchou."

Akeno took a step back, expression composed into a demure smile, and hands folded in front of her, as if she hadn't spent several minutes torturing a Stray Devil with lightning.

An ominous aura of red and black swirled around Rias as she strode forward.

Kiba spoke up.

"That light is the Power of Destruction that Buchou inherited. Demonic energy externalized to vaporize her foes."

"Any last words Viser?"

Viser was cut off as Yuuji called out.

"Permission to engage Buchou?"

Rias halted in her tracks. All eyes on him.

"That's not necessary Yuuji. I'll take care of it, so just stay there for now."

"Sorry Rias…"

" _But I wasn't asking."_

With that declaration, a dull grey assault rifle coalesced into his hands as he took a knee, spinning to the side.

 ** _RATATATATATATATAT!_**

...Unloading the entire magazine into the corner of the room where the abandoned machinery rested.

A staccato beat to the rhythm of an agonized, stuttering scream.

The room was silent as Yuuji lowered the smoking gun, slipping his finger from the trigger guard and flicking the safety on.

"Clear!"

Everyone was staring at the corner where Yuuji had fired, wide-eyed.

Viser forgotten, the rest of the peerage moved slowly to the corner of the room.

Amongst shredded metal and pitted concrete was an equally shredded Stray Devil. About the size of a horse, a female Devil with a woman's head and the body of a lion.

Vacant, staring eyes and a fanged mouth gaping open with a now silent scream.

"He killed it…"

Kiba whispered with amazement.

"We didn't even know it was there. T-there was only supposed to be one Stray in the area… s-she was supposed to be solitary."

Rias whispered, pale-faced.

' _If Yuuji hadn't seen it, it would have pounced on us before we even knew it was there. We could have easily... dammit... Rias, you failure.'_

Rias shuddered, but with a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and schooled her expression, turning with words of praise upon her lips.

Those words vanished like smoke when Rias turned just in time to watch Yuuji, on hands and knees, begin to vomit violently.

Akeno got to him first, dropping to her knees to put a hand on his lower back.

Bewildered, she began to rub gentle circles as he continued to heave and retch.

"Yuuji, Yuuji what's going on!?"

Rias had reached them and was crouched at his other side.

Dimly, she could hear a low grunt as Kiba skewered the now unconscious Viser through the eye, ending their appointed task.

Koneko stood guard over them, wild-eyed but focused outwards.

"Didn't... mean… to kill... not... supposed… sorry... Asako... killed."

Yuuji went limp, and would have fallen in his own vomit if the two girls hadn't caught him.

He was panting heavily, eyes wild and staring.

Akeno looked at Rias helplessly, still rubbing Yuuji's back with one hand.

They hadn't missed the unfamiliar name, but that wasn't important right now.

"I don't understand… Yuuji, talk to me please!"

Yuuji continued to raggedly gasp for a few moments before responding.

And when he did, he took a deep breath and stood with the same blank expression as always.

"Dammit, was just trying to wing the b- sorry Buchou, but I'm not going to be all that useful of a Pawn. I can't kill anyone."

He gestured to the ground.

For the first time, Rias noticed the puddle was awfully red.

"Not useful- Yuuji, you don't have to kill if you're a Devil. I should have noticed the other Stray, that was my failure as your King."

As she said that, she stood up and drew him gently into her arms, pulling his head down closer.

Trying to ignore how his body recoiled minutely.

"It's okay, I won't make you do anything you don't want to. Good work okay? You saved us, and I'm proud of you. Let's just go home, alright?"

Speaking gently into his ear as she held him.

"Akeno, please."

Rias spoke without releasing Yuuji.

"Y-yes, Buchou."

Akeno began to summon a portal as the others gathered, shooting concerned looks at their newest member.

They were gone a moment later.

* * *

Back in the clubroom, Rias took a step back without releasing Yuuji, holding him at arm's length.

With a gentle, comforting smile across her lips, a glimmer of concern in her blue eyes that swept carefully over him.

"Are you okay now? Don't feel bad, most don't react well the first time they kill. There's no shame in it, and if you don't want to kill again I'll never force you to okay? I want you to be happy."

Yuuji had relaxed a bit at this point, and stepped back with a sigh.

"It's fine Rias, it's not a big deal. Just forget it."

The casual dismissal brought a frown to her face.

... Why was he so set on them ignoring his needs?

"It's not fine Yuuji, you never should have had to do that. I-"

Yuuji cut her off with a stern glare.

"Don't say it Rias. Your failure isn't what you think it is."

"... What do you mean?"

She didn't like where this was going all of a sudden.

Yuuji let out another sigh, sounding so disappointed.

That was somehow far, far worse.

"You failed, you all failed, _because none of you understand what a real fight is."_

Rias and the others jerked back in surprise.

The last thing they expected was for him to turn on them.

"What do you mean we don't understand a real fight? What the hell makes you say that!?"

Concern momentarily forgotten, Rias glared back at Yuuji.

"I mean, _Princess_ , that someone taught you how to fight in a safe environment. Out there? There are no _rules,_ there are no _guarantees_ , and pretending otherwise will get you all **_killed_**."

The others were silent, shocked not just by the sudden outburst, but the _venom i_ n Yuuji's voice.

The most emotion they'd ever seen from him, turned on them like a weapon.

"A lecture in hostile territory? By rights, that Stray Devil should be picking at least one of you out of its teeth. A mission where you're expected to kill your target is not a _damn_ _field trip_."

Yuuji loomed over her, eyes stormy.

She knew that.

She knew that, but it still hurt to hear it thrown in her face.

The room was silent for an instant before she grit her teeth.

"I know that! I… I know it was my fault! I don't need you telling me that! I'm trying my hardest to make this work, and I don't need you throwing my failures in my face like that! I-! You-!"

Rias was yelling now, and she didn't care.

The room went silent in a heartbeat when Yuuji cut her off by gently placing a hand on her head, ruffling her hair.

No more stern glare, just a soft smile and a long, weary sigh.

"I know, that wasn't fair of me at all... sorry, you did just fine alright? All of you, good job. Next time will be better."

Rias stared at him for a moment, not moving at all.

Something broke.

The next thing she knew she had slammed into Yuuji, burying her head into his chest, and grasping tightly onto his shirt.

Now, it was Yuuji's turn to rub her back as Rias sobbed raggedly, shoulders shaking.

Yuuji wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

Akeno joined in a moment later, wrapping her arms around both of them, from behind Rias with crushing force.

 _Tug, tug._

Yuuji turned his head down and to the side, where Koneko was pulling on the hem of his shirt.

She had her head towards the floor, but her trembling, weak grasp said enough.

"Scared."

She wasn't the only one.

"I know."

Yuuji put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in.

Akeno made sure to drop an arm to her as well, smiling through the tears.

Yuuji turned to the sole other male in the room with dead eyes and a soft frown.

Kiba hadn't planned on moving, but he put he still put up his hands and chuckled.

The slightly desperate edge made Yuuji narrow his eyes, and he offered a slight, reassuring nod.

* * *

Yuuji wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but Rias was the one to break the silence.

"I'm okay now. Sorry you had to see that."

She wiped her eyes.

"Ara, Yuuji sure is dependable isn't he?"

Akeno hadn't let go either.

"Hey Rias."

Yuuji locked his blank gaze back onto Rias.

"Yes Yuuji?"

She smiled at him.

"Your cheeks look a little puffy. Do you have allergies?"

She pushed away from him with a huff, the sudden movement causing Akeno to stumble.

"Mou~! You're so mean! And we were having a moment too!"

"My, I think you've made poor Buchou upset, Yuuji-kun."

Akeno giggled.

"Quiet you! I don't want to hear that from the girl who soaked my shoulder like that!"

Akeno's mouth clamped shut, cheeks a little red.

Koneko hadn't let go of Yuuji yet, still staring at the floor.

Yuuji looked down at her, and ruffled her hair with one hand.

"Ready to sit down now?"

A nod.

Without letting go, Yuuji shuffled back, allowing them to hit their legs against the sofa and all into it.

Koneko curled up beside him, resting her head against his arm with a quiet sniffle.

She still wasn't so sure about Kazami Yuuji, but she was scared and he seemed somehow the most stable thing in the room.

She was used to having at least _one_ of her Senpai to turn to, but those familiar faces were still a little pale.

... So Yuuji it was.

Kiba couldn't help but smile at the odd sight.

"Koneko-chan usually doesn't warm up to anyone that quickly."

"Safe."

Koneko, as if it explained everything.

To be fair, it probably did.

Kiba took the silence as an opportunity to bring up something that had been nagging at him.

"Yuuji-kun."

Yuuji turned his head.

"How did you figure out you were a Pawn?"

Everyone turned to Yuuji at that.

They'd forgotten his comment in all the commotion.

"Wishful thinking? No one will pay me much attention when there's 7 other people just like me."

Rias and Akeno turned to each other in alarm as warning bells went off.

Koneko prodded him hard in the side, tilting her head back to glare sternly at him.

"Wrong, Senpai."

"Sorry, Koneko."

Rias put her hand on her hips.

"She's right Yuuji. Not only are you wrong about ever being pushed aside like that, you're wrong about there being 7 other Pawns."

She declared with a smile.

"What do you mean Rias?"

Yuuji looked at her with confusion.

"I mean, it took all 8 Pawns to reincarnate you."

The pride in her voice was almost visible.

... Yuuji tried not to sigh at the obvious _waste_.

* * *

Later, when Rias and Akeno were left alone in the clubroom, Rias finally allowed herself to relax fully.

"Uuugh that was awful! I can't believe… we're so lucky to have Yuuji, but I've never shown the others such an uncool side of me, and I can't believe he scolded me like a naughty child and it worked!"

"Fufu I don't think anyone will hold it against you. We were all a little scared by the appearance of a second Stray. We're lucky indeed to have Yuuji. I didn't expect him to lay into us like that, but that side of him isn't bad either~."

Rias didn't miss how she rubbed her legs together.

"Akeno, you don't even like men."

"I'll make an exception."

"Just don't go overboard."

"No promises~."

"...You're fine with what we discussed with the other two?"

"Of course I'm fine with it. It gets me all hot to think of Yuuji taking charge. I do think you made the right choice. Yuuji obviously has a lot more _experience_ than we do. That 'cleaning company' of his must deal with some truly _dirty_ situations."

"Of course you're fine with it. Don't know why I'm even bothering to ask if a closet masochist wants to be bossed around."

"Ufufu~."

Rias turned serious.

"I think I have an idea what his Sacred Gear is now. Seeing him form that assault rifle tipped me off."

Akeno grew worried as Rias frowned and looked to the floor.

"What's wrong Rias? I thought you'd be excited to know... what Sacred Gear does he have?"

"There aren't any Sacred Gears that can create multiple kinds of gun. Guns didn't even exist when the Sacred Gears were created by God."

Rias spoke slowly, hesitantly.

Akeno had known her long enough to know that her oldest friend was well and truly scared by the knowledge she was about to share.

Akeno gulped audibly as Rias continued.

"But there's one Gear that can create any weapon the wielder is _familiar_ with. And I hope Yuuji doesn't have it."

"Why? What is it?"

Akeno could feel a pit beginning to form in her stomach.

"It's name is **Arsenal Memoir**."

The King's voice dropped into a hushed whisper, as if afraid to speak that name aloud.

"It's said to be powerful, but no one knows exactly _how_ powerful."

"... Why?"

The icy claw around her heart was squeezing so very tightly.

"Because it's believed that Arsenal Memoir is cursed. It's usage has been recorded countless times throughout history, but not a single wielder has been identified."

"None of them? How is that even..."

Akeno's voice petered out weakly.

"There's been detailed accounts of the Arsenal being used in countless battles, and then disappearing, not being seen again for decades or more. But _who_ wielded it never makes it into the accounts. Not even once. Dozens of recorded uses, and not a single name. As if something about the Arsenal simply **_erases_** all recollection of it's wielders. "

Akeno certainly wasn't imagining the chill in the air. Clearly, Rias had felt it too.

So it couldn't be helped that Akeno spent the night at Rias' house, the two girls huddled up together to comfort one another where no one else could see.

Surely, it was the cold.

Nothing to do with how unwilling they were to spend the night alone, with only their own thoughts for company.

* * *

 **I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Yuuji is a cheeky bastard to be sure. I had a lot of fun coming up with his Sacred Gear as well, and his Balance Breaker. Don't expect that for a while yet though.**

 **I had every intention of introducing Asia this chapter, but I wanted to post the chapter before I go on vacation. I won't be gone that long, so expect the new chapter in three weeks or so. As it stands, I intend to release a chapter every two to three weeks.**

 **The scene with Raynare and Kalawarner took a few tries. In case it wasn't obvious, I intend to keep them around for a while. So I wanted to have them needing a reason to want to escape their current situation, but it was important that they didn't have a very** _ **good**_ **idea of how to do so. Hopefully I communicated that well enough.**

 **And don't think I'm bashing Azazel, because Azazel is great. Keep in mind that the only information you have on him is from a grumpy, upset Kalawarner well on her way to a mental breakdown. Raynare would definitely win** _ **that**_ **race though.**

 **You also might notice that one of the many differences between Issei and Yuuji is that Yuuji could successfully use a summoning circle, meaning he has more demonic energy than Issei. Don't get your hopes up though. Issei had less power than a Devil child. Yuuji is likely on par with said child.**

 **PS. Don't expect Yuuji to be OP, but don't expect him to have the same troubles either. A lot of the early issues the peerage had came from lack of experience, Issei was just a normal guy for example. In contrast, Yuuji easily has more combat training and experience than the entire peerage** _ **combined**_ **.**

 **Feel free to review or PM me with any questions, and if you have a theory on Yuuji's Balance Breaker I'd love to hear it.**

 **Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed so far, and I'll see you all next time.**

 **PPS. The assault rifle Yuuji summoned is the M16A4. For now, I'll be sticking to guns that actually appeared in the Grisaia anime.**


	3. Maiden And Monster

**Chapter 3 away! There's no stopping this train, so you've been warned.**

* * *

Two days later, the peerage met in the forest behind the school, wearing their PE uniforms.

Rias addressed the group.

"We're going to be stepping up our training. Recent events have revealed a weakness of ours, so I'll have us all working hard to fix it."

Nods from everyone.

"Yuuji will, of course, be leading the training."

Nods from everyone.

Except from Yuuji, who was busy glaring at Rias instead.

The glare was ignored.

"As much as it pains me to admit, the fight with Viser showed us what we were lacking as a peerage. But you already knew what we were lacking as a peerage, didn't you? So, we've been talking, and we all agreed that the best idea was to ask you to teach us."

She twirled to Yuuji with her most winning smile as she clarified, hands behind her back.

Everyone nodded empathetically.

Then, they all exchanged knowing glances and tiny smirks.

"After all, none of us have ever worked at a 'cleaning company' before."

Rias made air quotations with her fingers as she said that.

Akeno, Koneko, and Kiba did as well.

All of them then looked at Yuuji with hopeful expressions.

.

.

.

Yuuji clicked his tongue, looking unamused.

"Bothersome. Why don't you just go beat on each other or something."

The smiles fell.

"You mean... you won't do it?"

Sadly, Rias asked.

"I said, _go beat on each other._ Not knowing what you can do will make my job harder."

It took them a moment to process his meaning.

Then they all looked to each other with excited smiles.

They turned to Yuuji and opened their mouths to thank him-

He cut them off with a raised hand.

"Don't thank me. I know Devils are supposed to be native to Hell, but fair warning."

 ** _"I'm going to show you what Hell really looks like."_**

.

.

.

The other members of the peerage glanced to each other nervously.

... Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

* * *

Yuuji had taken a few days to come up with a training plan, and so had asked Rias to keep the entirety of Sunday clear for the entire peerage.

He had them then meet at 6am, receiving no complaints.

They were honor students after all, and the incident with the Stray had been a rude enough awakening.

He had them all standing at attention in a single line.

Then, in a stern voice he barked out;

"I need a victim!"

"Don't you mean volunteer?"

Rias asked.

"Thank you for volunteering Buchou! A leader should always be the first one willing to act!"

Her unease couldn't quite keep Rias from preening at the praise.

"Alright Rias, come over here and help me demonstrate."

Had Yuuji always been this confident?

... Maybe combat wasn't the only thing she could learn from him.

She wasn't exactly sure what she was expected to do, but as she walked over to Yuuji she-

Was staring cross eyed and breathless at a metal barrel pressed between her eyes, framed by clear blue sky.

' _Huh?'_

No warning, no sign of his intentions.

The instant Rias was within arm's length, Yuuji had flipped her over his shoulder and pressed a gun to her forehead.

 _He wasn't even looking at her._

As if this was normal.

So mundane, it wasn't worth even a fraction of his attention.

Yuuji's dull voice carried an ominous weight, a creeping chill that had never made itself known before now.

A shiver rippled through the silence.

...The gun was still pointing at Rias.

"It seems to me that you're all too used to setting the pace for encounters."

"Make no mistake, that's something you want."

Yuuji pulled a still dazed Rias to her feet.

"Just be aware that _everyone_ wants the initiative. I picked you Rias, because you're the most accustomed to being in charge of the situation. Taking charge of the situation like that will serve you well, if you're still prepared for someone else to try and take control first."

Rias ducked her head, feeling a little chastised.

It _had_ given her something to think about, though.

Better mistakes be made here.

Her last mistake could have cost her the lives of her precious family.

There wouldn't be another.

"Akeno."

"Ara, Yuuji's going to play with me next? What a lucky girl I am~"

Akeno had taken the lesson to heart, and without any further warning, fired a bolt of lightning at Yuuji.

It hit nothing but air, but Akeno was undeterred, keeping Yuuji rolling and weaving with bolt after bolt, leaving no time to retaliate.

It was only a matter of time before a mistake was made.

Lightning struck, and the Knight jerked and fell.

As Yuuji had been evading her attacks, he had been slowly moving his way in between the two.

Akeno cried out in shock, forgetting Yuuji entirely for a moment as Kiba twitched and groaned on the ground.

Yuuji wasn't interested in waiting, though.

It was Akeno's turn to hit the ground, arm twisted painfully behind her back.

"Most friendly fire incidents involve either tunnel vision or paranoia. Focus on your enemy, but never forget your surroundings."

Kiba groaned as Rias helped him to his feet.

Akeno groaned as Yuuji helped her to her feet.

Kiba waved away her apology, smiling to put the older girl at ease.

"While Kiba shakes the jitters out, Koneko can go next."

Koneko was already charging as Yuuji put one hand in his pocket.

 _*Whack*_

With a cute little squeak she skidded to a halt, hands clutching her nose.

... A 100-yen coin bounced to the ground and was lost in the grass.

Yuuji had closed in at the same time, and his eyes were level with Koneko's when she opened her eyes.

She flinched slightly as he reached out his hand-

To ruffle her hair.

Yuuji's voice softened, still just loud enough to carry across the clearing.

"A straight line is always the shortest route, for projectiles _or_ people. I'm sure you can take it, but pay attention so you don't have to."

Koneko gave a nod and a shy smile, and the others noted Yuuji had been far nicer to her, though they had no intentions of drawing attention to it.

Not when they were being that cute.

"My turn then, Yuuji-kun."

Kiba stepped forward with a smile, bokken at the ready.

He had no idea what Yuuji had planned for him, but he would be ready.

He was still a bit surprised when Yuuji walked over to their bags to pick up a training sword of his own.

"I'm not all that familiar with swordplay, but I'll try to keep this interesting Kiba."

Yuuji moved forwards with a small smile.

Shaking off his surprise, Kiba stepped forward to match Yuuji's bow.

They launched themselves forward, and with the speed of a Knight, Kiba crossed the distance first, sweeping down with his sword in both hands.

Yuuji sidestepped ever so slightly, bringing his sword up overhead to parry.

Rather than take the impact head-on, he angled his blade, letting Kiba's sword slide down his, as the momentum carried him past Yuuji.

He reversed sharply, coming back with a straight lunge.

Yuuji leaned ever so slightly to let the attack pass, his sword already raised overhead to strike.

Kiba pulled his thrust back just in time to block the counter.

As the two clashed, the girls watched from the sidelines.

Rias wasn't all that accustomed to sword fighting, but she was beginning to notice that something was… off about the encounter.

Judging by Akeno's frown, she was picking up on it as well.

"Yuuji is obviously slower than Yuuto, so how is he keeping up?

It was Koneko that answered.

"Yuuji-senpai is moving less. Yuuto-senpai is so fast that all his attacks carry a lot of momentum."

"But then, how can Yuuji block his hits so easily? Is Yuuji just that much stronger?"

"No, Yuuji-senpai isn't letting any attacks hit him head on. He's meeting everything at an angle."

Akeno made an 'Aha' noise as she dropped a fist onto her palm.

"In other words, Yuuto-kun is doing all the moving? Ara, Yuuji-kun might just be a slacker after all."

She giggled.

Turning back to the fight, the girls watched as for the first time, Yuuji met Kiba head-to-head, leaning in to lock blades with Kiba.

"I'm impressed Yuuji-kun, for not being a swordsman you move well."

"Thanks Kiba, that means a lot coming from the Gremory's Knight. But this is a lesson remember?"

Kiba raised on eyebrow, still straining against the other boy.

Yuuji pushed his shoulder into his sword, forcing Kiba back a half-step before letting go with his other hand.

A dull grey shimmer... and Yuuji was resting the Glock against Kiba's leg.

Kiba's gasp and the panicked shouts of the girls were drowned out by the crack of several shots being fired point-blank.

.

.

.

""YUUTO!""

Yelling from the sidelines.

The girls began to run forward, but were stopped by Yuuji's outstretched hand.

Kiba snapped out of it to notice the complete lack of any wounds or pain, as Yuuji let the gun fade and stepped away as if nothing had happened.

"Like I'd use live ammunition in a spar. They were blanks."

"Yuuji, you scared the hell out of me!"

Rias exclaimed.

Kiba had a reproachful frown on his face.

"Yuuji-kun, I thought we were- oh. Ohhhh."

"Figured it out?"

"I think so, but go ahead and explain for everyone please."

Yuuji raised his voice, half turning to the others.

"I went out of my way to approach you with a sword, so you assumed we were having a sword fight. Assuming the rules of engagement like that is a great way to get yourself killed when you're proven wrong."

Kiba rubbed his head ruefully.

"Fair warning, soon enough I'll be using rubber bullets. On _all_ of you. Though... actually, we might be a little getting a little ahead of ourselves with that. Rubber is a lot nastier than you'd think."

They pointedly ignored Akeno's pleased squirming.

Yuuji trailed off into silence, tapping a finger against his chin.

"... Now that all that's out of the way, we'll go over a few of the other what I've noticed from our little spars. From there it's simple enough, in theory. We'll do our best to shore up any glaring weaknesses, and dial down a bit on the things you're actually good at."

... He'd seen them fight once, and sparred with each of them for about five minutes.

Combined.

Were they really that easy to see through?

"Rias. You're up first."

"Y-yes!"

"Frankly, you're too talented for your own good. The fact that your Power of Destruction offers so much easy firepower means that you've been able to get away with simple point and shoot. In terms of pure force, you're easily the strongest we've got."

Rias wasn't quite sure how to respond to the blend of compliments and criticism.

"The problem lies in that blowing up the thing in front of you is basically your only tactic. I've noticed this with Akeno as well, but you don't so much have a 'fighting style' so much as the ability to 'cause harm with magic'."

Yuuji pointed a finger towards Kiba as he spoke.

"Since you can't handle anyone getting up in your face, Kiba would have a perfect record against you if he was less straightforward with his tactics. You struggle against anything that doesn't move in a straight line, and once someone is close you have no defence other than to throw up a shield and hope it holds."

That was blunt, but to be expected from Yuuji.

"Essentially, you struggle with problems that can't be effectively solved with a hammer."

... That was even more blunt.

Rias blushed and ducked her head.

...Yuuji made her sound so unfeminine when he put it like that.

Barbarians totally didn't use magic, in the games she'd played with Koneko, so why did she feel like he'd put her in that class!?

Her distress went unheeded as dull eyes settled on Akeno.

In contrast to her King, Akeno looked just a little excited for her turn.

Rias had never been jealous of her Queen's thinly hidden M side.

From his knowing little smirk, Yuuji had noticed it too.

"Akeno, your first problem is that you're a pervert."

... No mercy at all.

This was her one and only Pawn.

"Ara, so cruel Yuuji-kun~."

That sounded suspiciously like a compliment.

"Deviancy is one thing, but don't get carried away. Don't play with your food until you're sure it's cooked."

Yuuji continued as it nothing strange had been said.

He still had on the same knowing smirk, and so it was Akeno's turn to look ashamed.

Or aroused, hard to tell sometimes.

"Now, I get the impression that you have less firepower than Rias, but you're also a bit more flexible. You can use other elements, yes?"

Akeno nodded.

"We'll work on your angles of attack a bit more, I'll teach you a bit about how to look for blind spots when you attack. Both you and Rias are going to be learning some hand to hand too, let's see if we can prevent any person who slips past the light show from getting a free kill."

Yuuji paused for a moment.

"Oh, and while I don't really understand the theory, both of you seem a little too flashy with your spells. Let's see if we can narrow the field of fire a bit."

Akeno wasn't an honor student for nothing, and had, by now, had gotten over her mild embarrassment in favor of giving Yuuji her full attention.

"Lastly, we'll deal with how you're wasting the potential of the Queen Piece."

Akeno wasn't the only one who flinched at that.

Rias rose her voice in defence of her friend, angry now.

"Yuuji, that's too far! Akeno is an excellent Queen!"

Akeno hadn't said anything, slumped in on herself with eyes fixed to the dirt.

"Hah... sorry, sorry, I keep forgetting that I'm not dealing with actual trainees. I'll try to be nicer."

Yuuji rubbed his head and sighed, sounding tired for the first time today.

"Don't misunderstand Akeno, Rias couldn't do better for her right-hand woman. That part of being a Queen is something you have well handled."

Akeno perked up just a little at that.

"It's just that taking on that role and using the Queen Piece itself aren't the same thing at all. At this point, you're basically a... Bishop with more responsibility, which sounds awful, so I think it's high time you abused your job perks a little more."

Akeno's smile was a little suspicious when he said the word 'abuse', but she was also starting to seriously consider his words, so Yuuji decided that was good enough.

Next victim.

"Kiba, you're too honest and honorable for your own good. Being a proper Knight sounds great and all, but getting yourself killed because you were being fair and reasonable would be embarrassing. Less of the how and more of the why. You have something you want to protect, don't you?"

He paused to let Kiba nod in agreement.

"So, I'm going to teach you how to cheat like a bastard, which, if nothing else, should make you less of an easy target for someone _else_ who cheats like a bastard."

It was Kiba's turn to frown, struggling not to let his pride get in the way of admitting Yuuji had a point.

Idly, he arrived at the conclusion that Yuuji was teaching him how to fight Yuuji.

Good to know.

"There's also the issue with your lack of range, but your Sacred Gear already has the answer to that. You mentioned you can summon swords out of the ground, didn't you? If you can do that with enough velocity to kill someone, what's stopping you from using the same trick out of thin air? I get that up close and personal is always going to be the best option for a swordsman, and it's a good cover for the artillery in your friend circle, but options are nice."

Kiba, for his part, looked like a spark had gone off in his head.

"Lastly, Koneko."

Koneko was looking at Yuuji with determined eyes, and an ever so slight quiver.

Yuuji was a bit scary at times.

"Koneko, you have what seems to be a common problem around here; a lack of flexibility. You can hit hard, and you're one of the few members of the peerage that can _take_ a hit, but that's about it. Throwing the upholstery around is pretty awesome, but you're a bit too focused on finding projectiles rather than _making_ them."

Yuuji lectured.

"As strong as you are, even a fistful of soil is gonna ruin someone's day. Your approach needs a little work too, being able to take a hit is great, but do you really want to when you don't have to?"

Koneko shook her head firmly, eyes locked onto Yuuji as she hung dutifully onto his every word.

Meanwhile….

"He's definitely nicer to Koneko-chan."

"Ufufufu, _everyone_ is nicer to Koneko-chan."

"That's because Koneko is adorable."

The older Devils froze momentarily, because _someone else_ had just briefly joined in the conversation.

He wasn't actually looking their way, but apparently Yuuji had been listening to them as well.

"Ara, are you saying I'm not adorable? You'll hurt my feelings Yuuji-kun~."

"I wouldn't say you're not adorable, it's just…"

Yuuji turned to Koneko, pretending not to notice her blush from his earlier comment.

They nodded, and with matching half-smirks, turned to Akeno in perfect sync.

"You're a pervert, Senpai~."

... Akeno wasn't used to spending so much time completely off balance.

* * *

They spent most of the day on individual assignments, Yuuji borrowing people to help as necessary.

Rias found herself receiving lessons and demonstrations on different types of firearms, as Yuuji used his now named Arsenal Memoir to summon them into being.

Of course, Yuuji was unaware of the more unfortunate implications of his Sacred Gear.

Rias didn't want to worry him with rumors, and if she was going to tell him, she hoped that her explanation could be accompanied by a solution.

But for the meantime, she would focus on the task at hand.

Yuuji used his demonstrations to provide inspiration for her Power of Destruction.

For example, the 'waves' she used in a keep-away game against Kiba were partially inspired by the M16, when Yuuji demonstrated how to strafe an area with fire when you were unsure of the targets precise location, or needed to suppress multiple targets at once.

Or just had extra bullets, but that probably wasn't important information right now.

Hmm... he'd better make sure none of his superiors found out he could _make_ ammunition.

Yuuji didn't really have any big plans for the future, but becoming a vending machine for assassins would probably never make it onto his bucket list.

Akeno was given targets that she had to strike from specific angles without changing position, or given a narrow field of fire (such as firing at cans through tree branches without hitting the tree).

Yuuji would also have her use the traits of other Pieces defensively, such as having various people hurling tennis balls at her and forcing her to dodge using the Knight's speed, or having her plant her feet in a small circle and use the power of a Rook to try and keep Koneko from pushing her out.

Progress was made, even though the black-haired beauty was becoming well-acquainted with the dirt.

Kiba spent a fair portion of the day playing what amounted to arcane tag against Rias or Akeno, trying to get in close enough to tap them without touching the shields they'd put up.

A few cases of vertigo-inducing bounces aside, Kiba was already showing himself to be better on the approach.

Yuuji would also give him targets to attack from specific ranges well outside of his usual reach, and he found himself experimenting, for the first time, with ways to make swords more aerodynamic.

Sometimes, Yuuji would set specific conditions, such as slicing off a certain amount of branches with a certain amount of blades.

The definition of what constituted a 'sword' was stretched far that day.

Koneko played similar games of keep-away as Kiba was doing, working on her agility.

Though she pouted a bit, Yuuji gave her a few tips on how to move in a way that took advantage of there simply being less of her to hit than the average Devil.

Yuuji would also have her practice using the environment to make up for her lack of range, from shattering objects to hurl shrapnel, to using her strength as a Rook to reshape the battlefield.

She also learned that if she stuck her hand into the ground and clenched her fist, the resulting dirt clod could snap a sapling in half.

Yuuji decided to call her training 'practical vandalism'.

Koneko was certain she was having the most fun out of anyone, though she'd probably never admit it.

She didn't need to though, because everyone had noticed that her rare and cheerful grin through all the dust and dirt.

* * *

The sun was just starting to set, and the peerage had gathered in the center of a now mangled field.

With the exception of Yuuji, everyone was completely exhausted.

Rias and Akeno were a little ashamed to be the worst off in that regard.

The results were speaking for themselves though.

Sure, it wasn't like they could fix all their problems in one day, but the feeling of definite progress was impossible to shake.

So when Yuuji's usual blank expression melted into a genuine smile with a just a hint of _pride,_ the Gremory Peerage was on top of the world.

... The perfect position for being kicked back into the dirt.

"Now that we've had some fun, I think it's about time we buckled down and started training."

""Huh?""

The lack of eloquence was understandable, he supposed.

"Buchou, remember when I asked you to put aside _all_ of Sunday?"

His tone was innocent, but Yuuji's proud smile had vanished in favor of an ominous little smirk.

...They wanted the first smile back.

"...Yes Yuuji?"

Rias' voice was most certainly not trembling.

"There are 7 hours left. So do you remember the other thing I told you?"

.

.

.

The others looked to each other with growing trepidation.

"Welcome to Hell."

That smile was _definitely_ not as encouraging as before.

* * *

Yuuji liked to think he was a good servant of Gremory.

So he made sure to give proper excuses as to why he was the _only_ member of the Occult Research Club to attend classes on Monday.

Of course, he hadn't trained them all the way until midnight on their first day.

He wasn't a monster after all.

* * *

Today, Sona Sitri had met Rias' newest and only Pawn.

The worrying nature of neither Rias, nor any other member of the peerage, making an appearance had prompted her to have Kazami Yuuji brought to the Student Council office, where it became necessary to reveal that the Gremory peerage weren't the only Devils in the school.

Sona and Rias had always been close friends, so she was worried that something terrible might have occurred.

That turned to suspicion, when Kazami, with a blank look, explained that he might have gone overboard.

She was almost ready to give voice to her agitation when he cut her off, perking up suddenly as if remembering something.

He then went on to correct himself by stating that while the rest of the ORC weren't attending classes, all of them were at the school.

As if to explain everything, Kazami pointed out that he didn't know where anyone lived.

This prompted a visit to the clubroom, where Sona found Rias and the rest of her peerage _comatose_ on the spare beds Rias kept for overnight stays, still in their _very_ dirty gym clothes.

Kazami then had another 'aha' moment, as he asked Sona to help the girls get changed.

Muffled groans and mutterings from Rias as Sona got her changed corroborated with Kazami's story that they had, in fact, just been training under his direction.

Sona Sitri took pride in always carrying herself with proper manners and composure.

So in the end, she did not ask Kazami Yuuji if he was a monster.

She would not, under any circumstances, admit to having entertained the thought.

* * *

Today had been a busy day.

Classes were easy, and no girls confessed to him before, during, or after, and he had the day off from Devil work, because Rias was still passed out where he left her.

... That last one made him sound like a villain.

But everyone had wanted to know why four of Kuoh's idols had failed to appear, the teachers were concerned, the fans were concerned, the other Devils were concerned, the Student Council was concerned…

Oh, he supposed those last two were the same group.

Sona Sitri seemed like the serious, no-nonsense type, so Yuuji decided he liked her.

Sona had decided that the existence of Kazami Yuuji was best summarized as a 'headache'.

Yuuji could respect professionalism, and he could respect her apologies for being introduced in less than proper circumstances.

It was kind of annoying when she found out that not only was he the only functional member of the peerage, that state of affairs was his doing.

He liked to think he'd been nice... ish when he was being interrogated.

... Rias might have to apologize for him.

Yuuji's thoughts were occupied with current events, so he didn't notice the small blonde with a too-large suitcase asking for directions in a manner equal parts frantic and shy, receiving only blank stares and confusion in return.

Even if his mind was occupied, however, Yuuji was never completely unaware, so when sudden movement caught his eye, he snapped out a hand and caught her by the back of the belt, as she stepped on the hem of her dress and pitched forward with a squeak.

Suspended in the air, she twisted to face him with a sheepish look as glittering green eyes met his black.

"T-thank you kind sir, could you put me down now please?"

Something was off with her words.

"Oh sure."

Yuuji helped her right herself.

The pretty little blonde brushed off her forest green habit, before suddenly snapping her eyes up with a joyful expression.

"Oh! You understand me! Thank God!"

Yuuji ignored the way her last word, and the cross at her neck, made his skin crawl, narrowing his eyes in thought.

The blonde looked down and away nervously.

"Oops, sorry, didn't mean to stare. Judging by the outfit and the cross, I imagine you're a nun of some kind?"

Yuuji let his expression lighten.

JB always told him his 'thinking face' was unnerving to normal people.

"N-n-no it's fine I didn't mean to be rude! Yes, I've been assigned to the Church in this town recently… are you a resident here?"

Ah, that explains things.

The movement of her lips weren't matching the words he was hearing.

Rias had explained that Devils have the Gift of Tongues, allowing them to speak and understand just about any language.

European descent, affiliated with the Church, but not speaking English, because Yuuji was fluent so Tongues shouldn't trigger.

What were the chances she was all the way from the Vatican?

"I am, did they not send someone to pick you up when you arrived?"

"N-no, they said they were short-staffed and gave me directions. But I made a wrong turn, and I can't speak the language here, so I'm lost."

Yuuji was trying really hard to ignore how cute her embarrassed face was.

Apparently, he was really good at making innocent looking girls cry, but this one was spurring protective instincts he didn't know he had.

"Kazami Yuuji. Yuuji is fine"

"Huh?"

She tilted her head cutely.

Stop that.

"If I'm going to help you find the church, we should at least introduced ourselves."

The nuns hopeful smile was bright enough to make Yuuji feel like he'd committed a crime for breathing the same air.

"Y-y-you'll help me!? Really!? Praise be!"

Chills again.

A Devil thing maybe?

"Oh! My name is Asia Argento, pleased to meet you Mr. Yuuji!"

"Mister? You'll make me feel old."

She blushed again.

"Sorry Y-Yuuji!"

Their conversation was cut short by the nearby sound of crying.

At a nearby park, a young boy was wailing while clutching a scraped knee.

Without hesitation, Asia rushed over and knelt down beside him, even beating the boy's mother there.

It was clear he had no idea what she was saying, but the child calmed at her soothing tone of voice, and she gently moved his hands away from the injury.

A soft green glow emanated from her hands, a pair of silvery rings winking into existence on either of her index fingers.

As Yuuji approached, the light faded to reveal nothing but smooth skin.

Asia patted the boy on the head with a soft smile, telling him to be brave.

He didn't understand a word, of course, but the Sister's expression was so kind that it didn't matter.

The boy's mother had a shocked expression as she tugged her son insistently away, but the boy turned to wave, and Yuuji translated.

"He says thank you, Big Sis."

Yuuji smiled down at her.

Asia's smile was just a bit wistful, before she shook it off, looking up to Yuuji with a little 'tehe' as she stuck out her tongue.

"Sorry I ran off, but I had to help."

Her expression was suddenly guarded as she looked at Yuuji, as if afraid of what he might say.

Yuuji, for his part, gave a simple shrug.

"We should get moving then if we're done here."

Yuuji turned and began to walk, but not before scooping up her dropped suitcase. She blinked in surprise.

"You're… not going to ask?"

Yuuji turned to her with a blank look.

"Asia, how did you heal that child?"

Asia pouted at the deadpan delivery, puffing out her cheeks and crossing her arms.

"You don't have to force yourself to ask, Yuuji."

Yuuji turned to face her fully.

"If you want to share that's fine, but I won't force you."

Asia blinked again. Then, she ducked her head and turned away slightly, twisting her hands together in front of her.

"Then… is it okay if I don't say anything right now?"

Her tone carried a note of shame, as if asking for something she had no right to ask for.

"I don't mind, Asia."

This time, Yuuji gave her a reassuring smile, and she immediately brightened up at that.

Yuuji ignored yet another flash of guilt, as Asia clasped her and together as if in prayer.

"Thank you Yuuji, the Lord must have sent you to take care of me, like an angel."

If she only knew.

* * *

Raynare didn't consider herself much of a fighter. Before her Fall, she'd never had to fight at all. But she was at least talented with the powers of a (Fallen) Angel.

Meaning she was the only one to sense it.

 _ **Something was coming.**_

It was off in the distance still, slowly but steadily approaching.

Angels, Fallen or not, had no place in the food chain.

Thus, the feeling of an approaching predator was both utterly foreign and utterly horrific.

' _Please don't notice.'_

That was the only thought Raynare was allowed to have.

Closer.

' _Please don't notice.'_

Closer.

' _Please don't notice.'_

It was some distance away still, near the stairs leading up to the church.

' _Please don't notice.'_

Words were drifting up to her, but she couldn't make them out.

She wouldn't, _couldn't_ get any closer to look down.

" _Thank you so much! Are you sure you don't want to come in?"_

" _No Asia, that's alright. I have things to take care of, but I'm sure we'll see each other soon alright?"_

" _Mhm! Thank you so much Yuuji-san! God bless you!"_

One word drifted up to her, and Raynare froze.

 _ **Yuuji.**_

 _ **Yuuji.**_

 _ **YuujiYuujiYuujinononoYuujinopleaseno**_

Raynare desperately smothered a sob. That soft smile he'd worn when she'd killed him warred with images of Dohnaseek's _mangled_ form when Kalawarner had found him.

The culprit who'd done it was just below her. With every reason to hold a grudge.

She could only pray he would leave before she couldn't hold her silence anymore.

Knowing full well how useless _prayer_ was for someone like her.

.

.

.

That suffocating aura slowly drifted away. He was leaving.

She was alive.

Raynare stopped trying to muffle the sobs.

* * *

Kalawarner greeted the Sister at the door.

She tried to ignore the faint shivers crawling up her spine, or the fact that Raynare hadn't greeted the nun first.

She could tell Raynare was in her usual spot, but she wasn't moving.

Kalawarner wasn't as sensitive to the ebb and flow of magic as Raynare, so that was about as much as she could figure out.

For the moment, she pushed it to greet the far smaller girl, who was toying nervously with her green habit.

"A pleasure to meet you, Asia Argento. Sorry we weren't able to come get you, did you have any trouble getting here?"

The girl relaxed, and brightened up at the question.

"Well, I was a little lost, but a nice young man helped me get here! God must have sent him to help me."

She put her hands together as if in prayer.

"Oh? And did you catch this fine gentleman's name? I would love to the chance to thank him in person sometime."

Kalawarner returned the younger girls smile, her expression a touch more authentic this time.

"Mhm, he said his name was Kazami Yuuji. And he promised we'd see each other again!"

Kalawarner felt her smile freeze in its place.

... That explained why Raynare hadn't moved.

She'd pass the Sister on to Mittlet, and let that brat make herself useful for once.

Raynare needed her.

* * *

Tuesday was business as usual for the ORC.

Yuuji blatantly ignored the dark looks his fellow Devils shot him, as they gathered in the clubroom after school, the others still understandably stiff from their first day of training.

This silence was probably one of those 'awkward silences', that JB had mentioned he was often the cause of.

"So, I took a Sister to church."

Rias' head snapped up.

"Don't ever go near a church again."

Anger gave way to a stern, albeit worried expression from his master.

"Churches are enemy territory. They... probably overlooked it if you weren't acting with ill intentions, but approaching a servant of God like that can be seen as an act of war. Any watching Angels could easily justify skewering you with a light spear."

Yuuji tilted his head at the scolding.

"Are we sure that's really a church?"

Yuuji frowned slightly, deep in thought.

Rias' confusion was clear.

"I'm not an idiot Buchou. That cross she was wearing made my skin crawl. I definitely would have died if I had walked carelessly through those doors."

It was Rias' turn to frown, as Yuuji paused to gather his thoughts.

"But... they didn't feel wrong for the _same_ reasons. I can't quite explain it, but the church felt less, pure I suppose?"

Rias' frown deepened.

She then shook her head, as if to dispel her thoughts.

"I'm not aware of any activity from the Church, so it's possible it's defunct and that Sister is here to help revitalize it. It would feel less Holy if it had been left untended for a while."

She didn't tell Yuuji her real suspicions.

No telling what he might do if he had brought the Sister to who Rias thought he had.

Best she steer him away from this line of thinking.

"Please keep my warning in mind. I don't want you hurt okay?"

Rias eased her expression into a warm, gentle smile.

Yuuji scowled slightly and looked as if he wanted to say more, but she pushed things along to cut him off.

"Kiba has been double-booked again, so could I send you to one of his contracts?"

Kiba spoke up.

"I'd appreciate it if you could, Yuuji-kun. The timing has been difficult lately."

Scowling still, Yuuji bit off the words on the tip of his tongue, acknowledging the request.

Without saying anything further, he stepped onto the summoning circle and vanished.

Rias let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

* * *

Yuuji found himself standing outside a small suburban home with a well-kept yard.

Odd, he'd normally appear directly into the room the client was in.

...The front door was ajar.

Immediately on guard, Yuuji crept up to the door and listened in, palming a summoned knife in his right hand.

Silence.

Yuuji slipped in through the door, careful not to let it move.

Ghosting down the hallway, he moved closer to the dimly lit entrance on the right side of the hall.

As he got to the door, the scent of burning wax and fresh blood assailed his senses.

Peering into what was clearly the living room, Yuuji saw a pair of figures.

A slender white haired figure was toying with something he couldn't see, in front of the figure leaning against the wall.

No, not leaning.

The figure was upside down... pinned, with dark shapes stabbed through his limbs.

The empty chest cavity offered some strong hints as to the figures condition.

Slipping quietly into the room, Yuuji positioned himself across from the standing, now whistling figure.

"Don't suppose you asked for a Devil?"

The white-haired man leapt into the air with a yowl and twisted to face Yuuji, but when he did he was tensed, ready to fight.

Dangerous.

"Bah you scared the shit out of me you shitty Devil! Are you the shitty bastard this shitty bastard tried to sell his soul to!?"

Crazed red eyes locked onto a pair of dark orbs, as a handsome young face twisted into a feral, lopsided snarl.

"You need to learn more words."

"Tch! I don't need lessons from some shitty Devil-kun~."

"Devil-kun? Sorry, but no thanks."

"Hahahaha I like you kid! And since I like you, this priest is gonna cut you up reaaaalll good mmkay?"

The now revealed priest cackled while dancing a strange little jig, his dark green embroidered jacket swishing about as he did so.

"Once again, sorry, but no thanks."

"Awwww, don't play hard to get! I thought we were friends!"

He was fluttering his eyelashes, but he couldn't fool Yuuji with the sudden, flippant attitude, try as he might.

Yuuji let out a long-suffering sigh.

"There's probably something I'm supposed to say here. But you're starting to piss me off so I'm just going to hit you until the noise stops."

The priest cackled.

"Not if I cut you first! Let Freed Sellzen take goooood care of Devil-kun!"

Suddenly, crazed red orbs were inches from his own.

A glowing sword that sprung from out of nowhere in his right hand, humming dangerously as it thrust its way towards Yuuji's face.

Yuuji shifted to let it pass, before slicing upwards with his hidden knife.

Freed howled and dropped the sword as Yuuji severed the tendons in his inner arm, but recovered quickly enough to leap back from the second swipe.

"Gah, Devil-kun rejected me! I'm hurt I'm hurt you don't understand a maiden's heart at all!"

Freed was still smiling and squirming, rubbing his legs together perversely as one arm flopped about.

No sense, no feeling?

Freed's smile turned shark-like as his left arm flew into his coat, blurring outwards with a strange gun in hand.

Yuuji hadn't followed, and was too far to reach and intervene.

 ** _BANG!_**

A scream of agony tore through the darkened house.

"Shitty bastard you damn cheater that's my trick Devil!"

Freed was frothing now, and down another functional arm.

Yuuji's left hand had been faster, and more importantly, so had his gun.

Freed's gun, in contrast, was on the floor with a broken, blood trigger guard.

Yuuji had shot right through his hand.

"Now are you going to keep yammering, or do I have to gag you?"

A startled gasp cut off Freed's retort.

Asia was at the door, frozen in horror. Beautiful green pinned to the spot by cold black. Yuuji blinked and the spell was broken.

"Y-Y-Yuuji? What are you…?"

"Kahaahahaa! There's my lovely little Asia-chan! Come fix up your boss, my lovely little assistant-chan! My heart is wounded from bitter, bitter rejection!"

Asia turned to Freed.

"Father Freed! You're-"

Asia's words died in her throat as the scent of death hit her nostrils and the flickering candlelight drew her gaze to the lifeless hunk of meat pinned to the wall.

Predictably, she screamed.

"Hahaha that scream made waking up today worth while! Look close Asia-chan, that's what happens to shitty Devil-worshippers and even shittier Devil-kuns like that one over there! Stray or not, that's what Exorcists like me are for!"

Asia turned to Yuuji, with a look of fear and betrayal.

Even Yuuji couldn't help but flinch.

"No… Yuuji... is it... is it true?"

"It's true Asia."

Yuuji hadn't felt this low in quite some time.

Freed cackled all the louder.

"Sorry Asia-chan! He's going to reject you like he rejected me! Heretics like us have to rely on Fallen Angels to live, and Devils and Fallen Angels never share the same bed!"

Yuuji noticed Asia flinch at the word heretic.

"Shut your mouth _Father Freed._ "

Twin pools of darkness swallowed the rooms' candlelight as the Devil's next words stole the warmth from the room in an instant.

 ** _"Or you'll be the next one pinned to the wall."_**

The two humans shuddered and went pale, ghostly white in the dimness.

To her credit, a shaking Asia stepped between the two men with arms outstretched.

"No! Yuuji isn't like this, Yuuji is kind! Please, don't fight anymore!"

There were tears in her eyes.

Yuuji hadn't thought he could feel any worse.

He really, really didn't like being wrong.

"Haaaah!? Asking a Devil for mercy? Are you crazy bitch!? I'll cut you too you shit-Sister!"

Red light engulfed the room from behind Yuuji, cutting off any further ranting.

"YUUJI!"

Rias cried out, crimson aura blazing. Akeno and Koneko behind her at the ready.

Kiba was already rushing forward with sword in hand, but he made it a single step before skidding to a halt.

"...Why were we worried again? Yuuji is the scariest thing in this town."

His tone might have been flippant, but his tense expression told a different tale.

He took position between Freed and the others, eyes never leaving the bleeding Exorcist.

The two older girls ran up to Yuuji, checking him frantically for injuries, only calming when they confirmed he was safe.

Koneko merely stepped up to his side, briefly leaning against him.

Killing intent from Rias engulfed the room in waves.

"You're lucky my Pawn is stronger than you… I would do far worse if you hurt one of my precious Servants."

"Hwoooooo scary and hot! Hot and scary! This is the best! Thank you very much~!"

Akeno regarded Freed with cold eyes and a strained smile.

"Ara, are those the eyes looking where they don't belong? Shall I shut them for good?"

"Oooh another scary Onee-san! Please take care of me Devil-chaaan~!"

Say what you want about Freed, but he was a brave sort.

Koneko spoke up suddenly.

"Incoming."

Akeno turned.

"Buchou, several Fallen on the way. At this rate we'll be the one's trapped."

"Get the circle ready. We have Yuuji, let's leave."

Yuuji hadn't moved. He was still looking at Asia.

"Asia. You can't stay with a psycho like that."

She smiled sadly.

"Come with us Asia. Please."

Yuuji held out his hand.

"Sorry Yuuji, but it doesn't work like that."

This from Rias. Yuuji whirled on her.

Suddenly, Koneko was right in front of him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and clenching her eyes shut.

"Sorry Senpai."

"Wait dammit! Asia. Asia!"

Yuuji reached out for her too late.

Koneko leapt backwards, hurling them both into the circle just as the red light flared up.

Asia's tearful smile burned into his mind.

* * *

Yuuji was silent as they appeared in the clubroom.

He stood there, unmoving, Koneko still with her arms wrapped around him and her head buried in his side so he couldn't meet her eyes.

A hand settled on her head and gently rubbed it.

"It's okay Koneko, you can let go now."

After a moment, Koneko released him, looking up with a guilty expression. She relaxed as Yuuji smile down at her.

Behind them, Rias squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"Yuuji, I-"

Her words were cut off violently as she was swept off her feet, and across the room, to slam into the wall.

Black eyes pierced deeply, as Yuuji held the breathless girl aloft with her collar clenched in both fists.

He stared, and Rias met his eyes, steeling herself to face the smoldering within.

Only to find them empty and cold.

Somehow, that was far, far harder to face.

"... We left her."

Yuuji unceremoniously dropped her, and Rias sucked in air.

"W-we can't bring her... through the circle."

"You should have left me there then. She's in danger every second she stays with that monster."

"You would have died. I can't let you kill yourself! I'm sure she's a sweet girl, but she's a servant of God. You can't help her as a Devil."

"I've never cared about being a Devil."

Rias wasn't the only one that flinched at that.

"Yuuji…"

"Save it, _Buchou._ If you say I can't help her, I'll follow your orders. I am your _servant_ after all."

Yuuji curled his lip in disgust before twisting away, flinging himself on the couch.

A stung Rias bit her lip.

Tense silence reigned, for a while, until reluctantly, Rias sent everyone home.

... Yuuji hadn't met her gaze again, even once.

* * *

... She couldn't do this.

If they removed the Sacred Gear, she would die.

Kalawarner didn't have it in her to kill Asia.

She was trying to put on a brave front for Raynare's sake, but she couldn't do it.

It was supposed to be one last job.

One last bitter little crack on a pair of tired, broken hearts.

Then they could run, and try to put this all behind them.

This was just too much.

She couldn't kill Asia Argento.

Not this girl who hung on her every word, as if her voice was the only thing that mattered.

Not this girl with a smile like the sun.

Not this girl who still had every right to the title of 'Holy Maiden'.

Not this girl who's only sin was being _too kind._

She couldn't do it.

 ** _She couldn't fail another innocent child._**

So she dragged Raynare out on patrol, to admit that this time, it really was over for her.

She wasn't really surprised that Raynare had been intending to tell her the very same thing.

Out there in the forest, they made their resolve.

They would save Asia, even if it killed them.

Unbeknownst to them, their declaration was not as secret as they hoped.

Unbeknownst to them, someone else had made the exact same decision.

Halfway across the city.

* * *

The school day passed by uneventfully.

Yuuji came to school as normal, had lunch as normal, and reported into the ORC after school as normal.

He was nothing but polite.

That was to say, he was polite to her and everyone else.

Nothing more.

As if there was nothing more to Kazami Yuuji than a good student and a good servant.

She had done it to save him.

When they appeared in the house, that had been her one and only concern.

She hadn't planned on damaging their budding relationship, perhaps beyond all repair.

After all, Rias Gremory knew almost _nothing_ about Kazami Yuuji.

The air hung heavy in the wake of a bitter, exhausted chuckle.

... Perhaps there hadn't been any trust there for her to lose.

* * *

Akeno stepped onto the landing to Yuuji's house, several grocery bags in hand.

At the ORC she had asked to come over to speak with him, in private.

This had turned into an offer (non-optional) to make dinner when she found out Yuuji's taste in food was 'anything that's nutritious and fills my stomach'.

She knocked on the door, and Yuuji opened up after a few seconds.

"Hello Yuuji-kun, may I come in?"

She gave her most winning smile.

"Be my guest."

No reaction, guess he was playing hard to get.

She'd ramp things up.

"My my, I've never been to a boy's house alone before. Who knows what might happen~."

She put one hand on her cheek and giggled, fluttering her eyelashes at her fellow Devil.

"Dinner, according to the rumors."

Still no reaction.

He hadn't even dropped his blank gaze in favor of one of those little half-smirks.

Akeno pouted a little at that.

She'd made boys too weak in the knees to even _stand_ by batting her eyelashes at them.

Yuuji hadn't even blinked yet.

Maybe she'd get a response from her wonderful cooking.

He didn't know what he'd been missing.

She'd show him yet.

* * *

Yuuji knew full well why Akeno was at his house.

Admittedly, it had been a little funny to see her teleport to back to her house upon the revelation that his kitchen was severely lacking in cooking utensils.

Apparently, a bunsen burner and a can opener were inadequate.

They both knew why she was really here, of course.

He must have shocked them all with his reaction to their attempted rescue, and as her Queen and her friend, Akeno was likely intending to speak with him on Rias' behalf.

He understood why Rias had acted the way she did, and frankly, he didn't even think she'd made the wrong call as a leader.

He also felt like he'd acted a more than a little ungrateful about the whole thing.

 _He just didn't care_.

The right call had left Asia to her fate.

Yuuji didn't give a damn about the right call, protecting the innocent smile of people like that was precisely what Kazami Yuuji was for.

Defending people like that was the _only_ reason someone like him had any right to exist at all.

It didn't make betraying the peerage, who had been nothing but kind, any easier, but...

Kazami Yuuji would do what needed to be done, and that was all that needed to be said.

A nostalgic tune was playing through his head, soft humming drifting through the air.

* * *

Asia was shaken from sleep by an urgent hand on her shoulder.

Blearily blinking herself awake, she found Lady Raynare at her bedside with anxious look on her face.

Her inquiry was muffled by a gentle finger pressed to her lips.

"There's no time, get ready to leave."

Raynare whispered, smiling softly with one eye towards the door.

"Leave, what do you mean?"

Asia whispered in return.

She still rolled out of bed and fumbled for her boots though.

Asia was an obedient girl after all.

That's how the Church had raised her to be.

"I'll explain later, but it's not safe for you here. We need to get you out of here while the others are gone."

"Not safe, what do you mean? What about the ritual?"

An anguished expression crossed Raynare's face.

"The ritual was never what you thought it was. We... we weren't going to use your power to purify anything, we were going to use the ritual to _take_ your power… you would have died Asia."

"Died? N-n-no... but… Lady Raynare…"

The heartbroken look Asia gave her had tears streaming down Raynare's face.

"I'm sorry Asia, I'm so sorry but we couldn't do it. We can't do it. Your only hope is if we get you out of here now before it's too late."

Raynare sobbed at her, trying desperately to keep her voice down.

Asia had tears in her eyes as well, but she still managed to smile at Raynare.

"I know Lady Raynare, you're much too kind to ever do such a thing."

She might as well have slapped her.

"And that 'we' you keep mentioning is Lady Kalawarner right? She's just as kind as you are, and I know how close you two are."

Asia was smiling still.

Raynare went to pull her towards the door, but she flinched back as Asia reached up to her.

Unperturbed, Asia reached up and let a soft, green glow cover her hands.

She laid a hand on Raynare's cheek, and her now bloody lip healed.

Raynare took to clenching her jaw instead, not trusting herself to speak.

They had just made it to the door when a light, sing-song tone sounded from behind them, in the supposedly empty room.

"Aww, Ray-chan's betraying us for the failed Holy Maiden? How adorable. How sickening."

Raynare whirled, light spear on one hand and the other tossing Asia from the room.

Just in time to block Mittlet's spear headed straight for her chest.

"Sure, drag it out for me. I'll have more fun making you squirm~."

"How'd you get behind us!?"

Raynare snarled, shoving the smaller Fallen, Mittlet, back.

Mittlet had blonde pigtails and a black, maid-style dress, and she might have _looked_ younger than Asia, but looks could be deceiving, especially among the long-lived.

"I was here the whole time, your touching heart-to-heart made me want to puke all over these nice clean floors. Hiding was easy, I was an Angel of Innocence once, and Innocence and Illusion go hand in hand."

As Mittlet gave a sinister smile, suddenly, there were four of her.

In an enclosed space like this, more bodies were usually a hindrance, but Mittlet was small enough for it not to matter and she knew it.

Four pink spears of light came stabbing out from four different angles.

Raynare leapt back, bleeding.

Asia yelled out her name, cowering just down the hall.

The Mittlet clones spread out into the hall, three surrounding her and one approaching Asia with a cheerful skip.

That one immediately took a hurled spear through the neck, but she bled multi-hued sparkles and disappeared in a blinding flash.

Mittlet had obviously been ready for that, because while Raynare cried out and covered her eyes, each of the Mittlet's plunged a cruel spear into her legs.

Raynare screamed as her legs gave way, barely catching herself with her hands.

The Mittlet's leaned forward as one and winked.

Raynare grit her teeth.

Where was Kala?

She had been on lookout at the corner of the hallway.

She found her answer as a blue-haired figure bounced down the hall, trailing blood.

Kalawarner skidded to a halt beside Asia, whose panic shriek was forcefully bit back, as she dropped to her knees with hands already aglow.

The groaning woman's maroon top had a noticeably large hole in its side, one going from front to back.

The pooling blood had already begun to soak Asia's dress as the rings of Twilight Healing did their work.

A low chuckle filled the hall as Dohnaseek strode casually into view, the front of his coat splattered with blood.

"That's right girl, keep her alive. We want Freed to have a warm body to play with after all."

Kalawarner spat blood and dragged herself to her feet, wound still bleeding but slower than before.

"Bastard… you knew from the start didn't you?"

As she spoke, she gave Asia a gentle push back towards the wall, wings flaring to block her from view.

"That you'd get cold feet? Betray your own kind out of misguided sympathy to a glorified pet?"

A harsh laugh echoed through the halls.

"Of course we knew. You two are nothing if not cowards. Too scared to be of any use."

"And that's why Mittlet shadowed you for your little rendezvous in the woods."

The Mittlet's giggled.

"I'm so sad you'd betray me and poor little Donny-chan~. But I never liked you bitches to begin with, and now I have an excuse to cut off aaaall your pretty bits!"

"I'm well aware of your tastes, Mittlet. So, do remember, we did only promise the ape _one_ of them. His little flunkies can fight over the scraps."

Dohnaseek advanced, as the Mittlet's fanned out, a fourth appearing to replace the one that was lost.

Raynare struggled to her feet, propping herself up with a spear.

Asia nervously tried to step forward, but a pink spear drove her back with a yelp as it impaled the ground at her feet, the Mittlet who had thrown it wagging her finger in a scolding manner.

The two other Fallen women looked to each other with grim nods.

Nothing for it now.

They'd just have fight their hardest to let Asia escape.

* * *

Akeno blinked herself awake. She was lying on the couch, where Yuuji must have put her-

'Gasp'

The last thing she remembered was a soft voice in her ear and a set of arms draping around her shoulders from behind…

Before wrapping around her neck.

"YUUJI! WHERE ARE YOU!? YUUJI!"

She conjured a small circle beside her ear.

"Rias! Rias, Yuuji is gone!"

"W-whaa!? Akeno what happened where is he!?"

"I don't know, that idiot choked me out and dumped me on the couch!"

"Aaaaggh dammit Yuuji! Akeno, he must be heading for the Church, can you move? We need to get there now! I'll contact the others!"

The panicked voice of her King cut off abruptly.

The Queen rolled off the couch, hitting the floor on hands and knees.

Her vision was swimming, and her head was pounding.

"Gah that- my- no other choice!"

Akeno conjured a mass of ice cold water.

Right above her own head.

* * *

Freed was lounging on what had originally been the priest's chair.

It was the only fixture in the church hall that hadn't been broken or thrown about, because everyone got a kick out of lounging in the 'seat of power'.

Freed was dreadfully bored, he'd been promised the blue-haired Fallen-bitch, but the other Fallen had insisted on dealing with the traitors themselves.

Hot was hot, but he was a little turned off by the idea of sloppy seconds, no matter how huge her rack was.

If only something interesting would-

A familiar figure was at the church doors.

Freed sprung to his feet with a gleeful cackle, skipping his way round the altar.

"Devil-kun! Finally responding to my-"

A sharp crack filled the air, so Freed threw out his hands as the floor rushed up to suddenly greet him.

"Eh?"

His leg was splayed awkwardly out to one side.

... Splintered bone and ruined flesh where his knee should be.

"GYAAAHH! Shitty Devil it hurts it hurts not even warning me you damn shitty-"

Pitiless black eyes and a smoking gun.

Three more sharp cracks silenced Freed forever.

* * *

It was going to be an easy job.

Guard the Fallen Angels and assist in the ritual to rob some witch of the Twilight Healing.

Get in the good graces of the Lord of the Fallen, maybe even be reincarnated as a Fallen himself.

There had been a delay as some of the Fallen turned traitor, but their plot had been sniffed out and was being dealt with.

He had only to wait.

The not-so-hidden entrance to the basement shrine slid open.

Probably Freed, bored with watch duty up top and looking for a replacement.

What skipped down the stairs was not a fellow Stray Exorcist, but several small metal canisters, some of round, while others had a more conventional tube-like shape.

He wasn't the only one completely unprepared when they reached the ground and went off.

He was one of the unlucky ones.

The cylinders spat thick clouds of smoke.

The round ones, like the one at his feet?

Burning heat and metal and-

* * *

 _She couldn't see._

She couldn't see anything in this smoke.

Just faint flashes of light as guns were fired wildly.

Unfortunately, the smoke wasn't nearly enough to muffle the shouting, or the screaming.

Something moved to her left and she lashed out with her light sword, taking the figure's head from their shoulders.

She had no idea if she'd killed friend or foe, but-

The one who put a hand over her mouth from behind, and slit her throat from ear to ear?

Definitely foe.

* * *

A shower of blue and yellow sparks filled the air as she blocked Dohnaseeks' spear with her own.

Kalawarner staggered a step, the aching in her side preventing her from setting her weight properly.

Dohnaseeks' grin turned feral as he swept it back around, drawing yet another bloody line, this time across her cheek.

"Hah for such a big brute of a woman you're quite frail aren't you?"

The bastard was playing with her.

Good.

Kalawarner had lost too much blood to win a real fight.

* * *

Raynare was being slowly cut to pieces as well, as the Mittlet clones danced circles around her, giggling like schoolgirls all the while.

Her punctured legs screamed at her, but she desperately struggled to remain standing.

She'd stabbed several copies, but never so much as touched the real Mittlet.

She couldn't outlast her going piece by piece.

So she wouldn't even try.

* * *

They were being attacked.

The noise and screams from through the halls must be coming from the inner sanctum.

What were those monkeys doing?

He'd have to deal with it himself.

Right after he'd dealt with his former comrade.

Kalawarner was covered in cuts and bruises, her clothing in tatters and blood oozing.

Her eyes had become glazed and unfocused from the blood-loss.

One solid hit, and she'd slip into unconsciousness.

She was growing desperate in her swings, exhausted from her wounds, and that would give him the chance he needed to win elegantly, and without further risk.

So when she raised her spear above her head for a clumsy overhead swing, he angled his light spear to meet it.

Perfection.

The blow would glance off, she would unbalance, he would hit her across the jaw, scrambling her brain and-

Her weapon crashed through his light spear, and his collarbone, tearing a path downwards.

Blood sprayed from his mouth and chest as Dohnaseek strained to turn his neck down, eyes widening as he found not a spear, but a massive _axe_ of yellow light embedded in his rib-cage.

Struggling, he looked up at Kalawarner.

"But how... you c-can't…."

"I can make other weapons... I just hate doing it because..."

The last thing Dohnaseek saw was the embarrassed flush on his killers cheeks.

* * *

This was fun.

This was fun.

This was fun this was fun this was fun.

Raynare was just so _pretty_.

Angels of Love usually were.

She had always been jealous of those Angels meant to look a bit more _mature_.

And here she was, stripping that beauty away and painting the pieces red!

Just like before!

With that _other_ Angel of Love.

Just like when she'd been expelled from Heaven!

This was so much fun!

Raynare finally collapsed on hands and knees, her shaking legs finally too weak to support her.

The Mittlet's crowded around her, spears at the ready.

Not to pierce, but to bludgeon all the pretty out of that stuck-up bitch.

Mittlet was too caught up in her fantasies to notice the surge of power.

She wasn't too caught up in them not to scream as from floor to ceiling, the space around Raynare became a forest of spears.

Mittlet's, real and fake alike, were impaled without distinction.

Raynare was still the first body to hit the floor.

* * *

Too weak to stand any longer, Kalawarner crawled on hands and knees to where Asia was frantically healing an unconscious Raynare.

Incapable of anything else, she wrapped one of her friends hands in her own.

Asia looked to her with worry.

"Just hold on a bit longer Lady Kalawarner! I.. I won't let either of you die!"

She really was too kind for her own good.

She just hoped that her power would hold out long enough to get at least one ally on her feet.

A battle still raged in the inner sanctum, but with no way of knowing if the attacker was friend or foe, they still needed to be ready to defend Asia.

 _Something was coming._

Something sharp dragged its way along the walls, muffling the footsteps that surely followed.

 ** _SSSSHHHHHHH!_**

As a blood splattered figure stalked into view with one hand casually grasping a smoking gun, and another dragging a gore-streaked blade across the stone walls, Kalawarner did the only thing she could.

Hauling herself part way up, she wrapped an arm around Asia and pulled her down on top of Raynare, shielding the two with her body and unfurling her wings to envelop them all.

By the time the figure reached them, Kalawarner was already beyond hearing.

* * *

The door to the church was slightly ajar, but Koneko's kick still blew it off its hinges in her haste.

Kiba swept into the room with blade at the ready, Rias and Akeno covering him with crackling lightning and flaring Destruction at the ready.

The main sanctum was almost empty, but their eyes settled on its sole occupant as one.

 _Splattered_ across the altar was the Stray Exorcist Freed Sellzen, his body leaning against it with gaping holes in his chest, and his tongue dangling from the ruined remains of his jaw.

Rias paled and hesitated, but Kiba ran over to the open trapdoor in front of the corpse without missing a beat.

Faint screams, and the crack of firearms could be heard from down below.

"Here, Buchou."

His tone was strained, but his mouth set in a grim line.

"Lead the way Kiba, but be careful. It sounds like a warzone down there, and I don't want us swept into it unprepared."

"Rias, we need to hurry."

Akeno spoke up.

Rias frowned.

"I know but… I can't lose any more of you."

Her Queen rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I know, but Yuuji needs us. He's strong, but he's clearly an idiot."

Her tone was soothing, but she couldn't quite hide the tremble in her voice.

Koneko spoke up quietly.

"Our idiot."

"Right."

They slipped down the winding staircase as quietly as could be, Kiba several steps ahead.

What awaited them at the bottom was a smoke wreathed hell.

Thick black smoke entwined with lighter grey as the scent of burning flesh and copper filled the air.

Screams, flashes of light and blurry thrashing figures raged through the smoke, the Devils pulling back to avoid the light bullets they'd never see coming.

Ignoring for now, the blood-drenched floor that peeked out from underneath the haze.

Rias made her plan quickly.

"It's suicide to go in blind like that. Akeno, I want you to conjure a wind to blow it away."

"Koneko, Kiba, be ready to rush in and grab Yuuji if he's there."

"The instant I know all of my servants are out of the way, the room will be nothing but ash."

Her peerage gave nods of affirmation as Rias began to gather her power.

Koneko and Kiba tensed, ready to dash forward.

Akeno waved her hands in circles above herself, before stepping back around the corner to send a howling gale into the sanctum.

The smoke was blasted to the far side of the room, and several of the struggling figures were sent tumbling as well.

None of whom were Yuuji. As Koneko and Kiba simultaneously yelled "CLEAR!", several of the combatants snapped their heads towards the staircase.

The others recoiled in shock at their first real look at just who they'd been fighting.

Too little, and far, far too late.

 _ **"Burn."**_

With a roaring wave of black and red light, Rias made good her promise.

The ash fell in silence.

* * *

A blurry figure came in to view above her, wreathed by a halo of gold.

An Angel?

No, none of her former family would want anything to do with her.

She blinked a few more times as the figure slowly became more defined.

Leaning over her with a puffy, tear-streaked face and a fatigued, but still radiant smile was Asia.

"Lady Raynare you're finally awake! Oh, I was so worried!"

She was being hugged.

She liked the hug, but by God did it hurt.

"Asia... pain... tender..."

She managed to groan out.

Asia immediately loosened her grip with red cheeks, looking at her with concern.

"Finally... awake... Ray?"

That voice!

Kala!

Kalawarner was laying beside her, covered with an old grey blanket.

From the thickness of her voice, Kala had just started to wake up as well.

As her awareness returned further, she realized one of her hands was occupied with one of Kala's.

She gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"What happened? Did we win?"

"I guess you could say that."

A dull, _male_ voice answered her question.

Raynare bolted upright in horror as recognition hit.

Unaware for now, of the tatters of her dress, or that the blankets her and her friend were wearing were the _only_ things preserving their modesty.

Leaning against the wall by their feet, splattered from head to toe in blood, was Kazami Yuuji.

She froze in horror as dull black eyes met hers.

"Y-Y-Yuuji... I... please don't hurt Asia."

He blinked in surprise, slowly turning his head to look at the Sister, still kneeling at her side.

"Hear that Asia? I guess I have to put all my wicked urges on hold."

Asia's stern eyes were contradicted by the puff of her cheeks.

"Yuuji-san, no one can tell if you're joking when your voice is like that."

"My voice is always like that."

"Which is why you need to be more careful what you say."

"Ara, as much as I enjoy hearing you two flirt, what are we going to do with our darling little _Fallen_ ~?"

The last word was spoken with such venom that Kalawarner bolted into an upright position as well, head snapping about to the source of the voice.

Long black hair and hate-filled violet eyes.

A good match for Raynare's, if they didn't belong to one of several Devils filling the room.

Eyes widened with terror, the two Fallen did the only thing they could.

Push back into each other and Asia, throwing out their shaking arms and flaring their wings to block her from sight.

They were going to die.

That much was certain, so they were understandably confused when the redhead, the _Gremory_ at the front of the group merely dropped her forehead into her hand and sighed.

* * *

"It's hard to stay hostile when the enemy reacts to your presence by shielding an innocent with their bodies. I feel like the villain here."

"Buchou is scary."

Koneko spoke up.

Asia patted the two Fallen comfortingly on the shoulders.

"Shh it's okay, Yuuji is with them so they can't be bad people."

"Fufufu such faith, I'm a little jealous~."

Akeno seemed to be find that quite amusing, even if the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Untrained."

Koneko said, as if it explained everything.

To be fair, it probably did.

Rias coughed loudly to regain control of the situation.

"The fact of the matter is, you, Fallen, are trespassing. What business have you here?"

Rias spoke in a stern tone of voice, staring down at the Fallen.

This was it, Raynare could tell.

One wrong word, one toe out of line, and they were as good as dead.

"We were here to retrieve Twilight Healing, as well as eliminate several wielders of Sacred Gears dangerous to the Fallen, on Azazel's orders."

Raynare looked guiltily at Yuuji at that last point.

The air reddened, and flickers of eerie black flashed here and there, the Power of Destruction leaking out to _singe_ the air around Rias.

"Strange, because the Grigori representative asserts that Azazel's orders were to observe and not to engage under _any_ circumstance, and the official stance is that the presence of Twilight Healing in Kuoh was _completely unknown."_

The two girls flinched at that.

Had they been sold out?

Had they been lied to?

What was going on?

What-

It didn't matter.

... They were dead either way.

"As an apology, the fates of any remaining _Stray Fallen Angels_ have been left completely in my hands."

The air crackled as the Devil made her declaration.

Raynare couldn't suppress her shudder.

The two Fallen and one Sister tightened their grips on each other.

"But, one of you has personally wronged a member of my peerage. And so I'll leave the fate of both of you in his hands. Yuuji?"

Three heads slowly turned towards Yuuji, who didn't notice at all wasn't looking at them.

He was busy staring at Rias with a conflicted expression.

"Buchou, can we talk first?"

Rias turned a worried gaze his way.

"Of course Yuuji, any time you need."

The two walked around the corner as the rest of the Devils kept watch.

* * *

"Buchou. No... Rias."

Yuuji was staring into her eyes with a frown.

"Yes, Yuuji?"

She had no idea what to expect.

"I need to apologize."

... And any ideas she might have had hadn't included _that_.

"W-what? Yuuji?"

"I blew up at you because I thought you were abandoning Asia."

"But... you were looking for a reason to help her the whole time, weren't you? I didn't consider your position at all. So, I'm sorry."

Yuuji ended with a deep bow, keeping his head lowered.

"Oh Yuuji, I'm sorry too. I should have explained my intentions, and we could have avoided all of that. I know I let my pride as King get in the way sometimes… I just, I need to prove I can do this."

As she spoke, Rias gently brought his head back up with her hands on his cheeks.

Hands still cradling his face, Rias smiled warmly at Yuuji.

She was secretly thrilled to have that smile returned.

"Have you decided what you'll do with the two Fallen? Any decision you make, I'll support 100%."

She slowly dropped her hands.

His expression cold once again, Yuuji straightened to his full height, and looked her in the eye with a firm nod.

* * *

An oppressive weight crept down the hall of Kazami Yuuji stalked back into view, with the Gremory heiress in tow.

He loomed above the two Fallen Angels, and suddenly they felt so very small.

So very helpless.

Those dark eyes held no pity.

Asia tightened her grip, futile though the gesture may have been.

"Buchou, you said I could do whatever I wanted with them, right?"

"Yes, Yuuji."

"Anything at all?"

"Anything."

"Buchou."

The Devils were the only one to notice Yuuji, for the first time, taking a tone of voice that was almost... pleased.

Or perhaps amused?

"Yes Yuuji?"

She, once again, had no idea where this was going.

"Buchou. I'm going to…"

"Yes, Yuuji?"

"Keep them."

"Yes, Yuuji."

Several mouths fell open, as every set of suddenly wide eyes whipped his direction.

 _""EEEHHHHH!?""_

More than a little confused, Yuuji could only stare back.

* * *

 **Yuuji-san, Yuuji-san. They're Stray Fallen Angels, not stray cats.**

 **I had so much fun writing this chapter.**

 **Yuuji is a slave driver, the other Devils are convinced he's Actually Satan, and he has no idea what gets them so worked up.**

 **Training was fun to write, but I had to be careful for them not to accomplish too much in one day. They didn't bring a stereo, so no proper montage for them.**

 **I also had a lot of fun writing the dialogue for the crazy flirty murder priest known less commonly as Freed, too bad the boy's dead. Too bad the other Exorcists are also dead, it was fun writing the grunt's perspective. Asia though.**

 **Asia is too pure. Any and every bad thing that happens to her makes me mad.**

 **Yes, even the things I write.**

 **Lastly, you might have noticed that Yuuji had no negative reactions to killing in this chapter.**

 **For those of you wondering, there's a 'trigger' somewhere in the chapter.**

 **And for those wondering how he so quickly filled the air with smoke and grenades, no airflow, and he shortcutted the process by cheating a little.**

 **That is to say, summoning the grenades already primed. He'd only need a hand to throw each grenade, so he could hurl them out a lot faster.**

 **So, lot's of ups and downs, feel free to share any thoughts, complaints or theories.**


	4. Stray Birds

**This chapter didn't actually take that long, but I did quite a bit of work on the first three chapters, so if you're one of the ones that's been following along since the beginning, I'd recommend starting from the beginning.**

* * *

Rias Gremory was a proud, High-class Devil, heiress to one of the most respected pillar families in the Underworld.

As befitting her station, she was taught to deal with whatever came her way with the grace and poise befitting a noble.

All of which left her woefully unprepared for dealing with Kazami Yuuji.

So when he responded to her invitation to deal with the matter of two Stray Fallen Angels, she was completely unprepared for him to declare that his desire was to _keep_ them.

Which was precisely what he had just said.

As if it was the obvious thing to do, as if he hadn't been dragged into the world of the supernatural by being _murdered._

Or that the culprit for said murder was currently shocked into silence, huddled on the floor in front of them.

"Yuuji?"

"Yes, Buchou?"

Her Pawn gazed over at her with innocent, curious eyes.

Rias could feel a headache coming on.

"What, precisely, do you mean by 'keep them'?"

Yuuji's eyes widened with sudden realization.

"...You're right. Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Ah, so the glaring issues had made themselves apparent.

Her adorable Pawn was a smart boy.

"Asia has nowhere to go. Can we keep her too, Buchou?"

...What had she really been expecting?

"K-k-keep me?"

For some inexplicable reason, Asia was blushing furiously as Yuuji turned to her.

"We're friends, aren't we?"

Slender hands flew up to her mouth as Asia rocked in place, eyes glistening.

Peeking out from behind those hands was a wide smile.

Yuuji tilted his head.

"Aren't we, Asia?"

She nodded frantically, smiling blearily the whole time.

"Yes! I-I-I want to stay with Yuuji, please?"

Yuuji turned his head back to Rias with a raised eyebrow.

She could only sigh, her smile never having quite left her face.

"Very well Yuuji, if you understand, then I'll allow it. But it will be dangerous to have a former Holy Maiden with no affiliation under your roof. So with that in mind-"

Rias turned to Asia, suddenly all business.

"How would you like it if you joined my household? You can stay by Yuuji's side as long as you want, and you'll even have a new family to call your own. In exchange, you'll serve me as a Devil."

Asia simply stood there for a moment, before sheepishly lowering her head.

"Become a Devil?... that...I.."

Rias' expression softened.

"I know this situation is hardly fair, but if Yuuji wants to protect you, this is the best assistance I can offer. Becoming a Devil will erase any previous claims over you."

"That being said, stay with Yuuji for now. You can take some time to decide, but I will need your answer soon."

"O-okay. Thank you, Miss Rias."

"Just Rias is fine."

Yuuji gave her a warm smile.

"Thank you, Rias."

Rias nodded in return, but her expression was stern as she turned away.

Cold blue eyes swept over the two Fallen Angels, who had remained silent and huddled together, still with Asia's hands on their shoulders.

Without looking away from them, she addressed Yuuji.

"Now in regards to those two, do you understand what you're asking?"

"Yes, Buchou. They've been discarded."

The two women flinched, huddling closer together as they quivered upon the cold stone floor.

"Their leaders have washed their hands of the situation, leaving these two as loose ends. No one will complain, no matter what we do to them."

Rias was having trouble determining where this conversation was meant to leave, but before she could offer further prompting, an outburst from an unexpected quarter.

"Then... then why? After what they've done, after what they've done to you! How can you let it go as if it's nothing!?"

Every head in the room whipped towards Akeno, and the incredulous fury in her usually soft tone.

"Asia's forgiven them. Anyone can easily tell what kind of person she is."

"But what about you!?"

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

The room froze in place... the question hadn't been directed towards Akeno at all.

... Yuuji had turned his head back to the two Fallen Angels with a strange nostalgia in his eyes.

Raynare and Kalawarner, frozen beneath his gaze, could only stare up at him with widened eyes.

"She'll forgive you without a second thought, because you were there for her when she needed you. Nothing that happened up to that point makes any difference at all."

All eyes were on Yuuji now, with one exception.

... Her mute Queen, curled in upon herself with her bangs shrouding her eyes.

Despite his gaze having never left the Fallen pair, for a moment, Rias imagined Yuuji to be somewhere else.

Somewhere far in the distance, farther than she could ever hope to reach.

... Akeno wasn't the only one struggling to keep her gaze lifted.

The air was heavy, suffocatingly so.

As if the walls themselves were leaning in closer to hear Yuuji's next words.

"People like to speak of a fire, burning deep within each of us."

Yuuji chuckled, and it was a tired, bitter sound.

"The more fondly they speak of it, the less likely it is that they've ever been burned."

Asia Argento had the vague awareness that that kind heart of hers might be the _only_ thing she could truly call her own.

The knowledge that it might only cause these two women _pain_ was a bitter pill to swallow.

More than that though, she wasn't the only one wondering...

Why Yuuji knew this topic so _well_.

Uncaring of the stricken silence, Yuuji crouched down beside Raynare and Kalawarner, lowering his head to their level, his expression unreadable.

"And so I'm not going to forgive you. Raynare, Kalawarner, from this moment on, I am your punishment."

Rias could only gape in shock.

"You're going to live for me. I won't hear any complaints if one day, I ask you to _die_ for me. I alone will decide when the future you forge outweighs the past you flee from. So until I decide they're no good to me anymore, your lives are _mine_."

A merciless, high-handed declaration.

And yet they gazed up at him like a savior from on high.

Or, perhaps it was the gaze of the drowning, towards the hand that held the only rope.

... Somewhere in all of that, his gaze had risen up towards hers.

Questioning.

Expectant.

She could only sigh once more.

... She just didn't have it in her to say no to eyes like that.

"When you put it like that, what else am I to say?"

She straightened, taking on a commanding air.

"You heard my Servant. He has laid claim to your lives as just compensation for your crimes against him. And so you owe him your everything. _Everything,_ am I understood?"

Dazed nods.

The air suddenly rumbled and churned as her aura flared, the Power of Destruction engulfing her body.

Pitiless blue eyes loomed above them, freezing them in place.

"Make no mistake, if you ever betray his trust, if you ever so much as _think_ of hurting my precious Pawn... _I will erase you."_

Raynare and Kalawarner could only cower, nodding mutely.

Point made, Rias let her aura fade, and the stern expression gave way to a tired smile.

"That's enough for one night, I think. Everyone, let's go home."

* * *

As people began to file out of the hall, Yuuji felt a tug on his sleeve.

Eyes fixed on the floor, Raynare's eyes were covered by her hair.

Her outstretched arm weakly trembling.

"Is it… really alright? Can we...really?"

"Yeah."

A dull response.

"But... how… how can you just?"

She didn't understand.

Truthfully, no one did.

"Someone held a hand out to me too, once."

A harsh intake of breath as Yuuji's words cut her more deeply than he knew, and as he did, Akeno shivered as the last embers of outrage died, leaving her feeling a cold and familiar guilt.

Kalawarner, though, was the first to break the silence.

"Do you really intend to…"

The question never quite made it out.

Just like he'd promised, Yuuji slowly, gently reached out a hand to each of them, smiling softly all the while as he-

Flicked them on the nose.

"Don't overthink it, idiots."

...This was her one and only Pawn.

Rias couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Proud, but embarrassed nonetheless.

"Senpai is mean."

Koneko, as if it explained everything.

To be fair, it probably did.

"But Senpai is warm."

As if it explained everything.

And maybe, just maybe it did.

* * *

Neither the two Fallen Angels, nor Asia could go through the teleportation circle.

So they'd have to walk.

The two of them were still wearing the blankets Asia had put on them, after discovering what was left of their clothes.

Of course, Rias wasn't quite ready to leave them alone with Yuuji just yet, so her and her servants were walking as well.

As they traveled, she caught up with Yuuji.

Glancing at the others, they caught her intentions and backed off a little.

She turned to her one and only Pawn, who was staring straight ahead with the same bored, lifeless look as always.

As if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

As if the blood of dozens wasn't staining his clothes.

Hesitating, Rias took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Yuuji... did you mean what you said? Back in the clubroom?"

If she was being honest, she really, really wasn't ready to ask this just yet.

Her needs and wants seemed to struggle to align, as of late.

Yuuji turned his head slightly in her direction.

"Does… does being a Devil really mean so little to you?"

He blinked in surprise, before his expression returned to it's typical empty look.

"Yeah. Being a Devil changes nothing _._ "

Rias was thought she was prepared for that, but she still felt her heart sink.

They walked in tense silence, and the air grew heavier and heavier.

Looking back at her concerned household, who had listened closely in silence, Rias worked up the courage to continue the conversation once more.

As his King, she had to clear up any issues or misunderstandings.

She owed him that much, she had already failed him once and she-

"But… I've never been in a club before. Going to the same place after school… being welcomed by the same people... I think... I want it to continue."

Yuuji was frowning as he spoke, as if unsure of how to say what he wanted to say.

He kept walking, but Rias had stopped in her tracks.

He didn't turn, so he couldn't see her expression... but he heard her soft voice just fine.

"Okay Yuuji. If that's what you want… _then we're not going anywhere._ "

The single stutter in his step was the best reply she was liable to get.

That was okay.

Kazami Yuuji had understood her words, and for Rias, that was enough for now.

* * *

Apparently, Asia, Raynare, and Kalawarner had expected some kind of talk when they arrived at his home.

Apparently, they'd overestimated Kazami Yuuji.

His first words upon entering the house were directions to the shower.

He then said they could borrow some of his clothes to sleep in until they had something more appropriate.

Yuuji hadn't thought this through at all though... his flat only had one bedroom.

There were four of them.

Luckily, his bed was a king-size.

JB had bought it for him, for when she visited, ignoring his protests.

He was a bit grateful, in retrospect.

He'd prove it by having her help him break it in fully.

The girls protested of course, even if the two Fallen were rather nervous about doing so.

But they still ended up cuddled on the bed together, Asia sandwiched between the two taller women.

Meanwhile, Yuuji curled up on one of the couches.

Staring at his hands.

Hands that struggled to make even a single fist.

Stiff and cold, like something long dead.

* * *

Morning rolled around, and Rias stepped out of a summoning circle into Yuuji's living room.

From his place in the open kitchenette, he turned to her before she could speak, and pressed a finger to his lips.

Luckily for him, the sensation in his hands had returned by the time he'd awoken... one secret that would be a little easier to hide for now.

She raised an eyebrow, and Yuuji motioned for her to follow, to the door of his his bedroom.

Lying on the bed, blankets on the floor, they could just make out Asia's sleeping face.

Snugly cocooned by not one, but two pairs of black wings, with a serene, easy smile on her face.

Breakfast was left wrapped, with a note on the fridge.

They let the girls sleep.

* * *

"They're making it difficult, you know."

"They're supposed to be our enemies. They killed you, and nearly killed a sweet innocent girl like Asia."

"I still don't understand how you can trust them so easily."

Yuuji finally spoke up, the first time he'd done so on their walk to school.

Even after a night like that, Rias hadn't let her peerage skip class.

She was strict that way.

"Well, I don't really trust them to be honest. Even if they have nowhere to go, there's always the off chance that desperation could make them do something stupid."

Rias was frowning.

"Then are you really okay with leaving them alone? Leaving them alone with Asia?"

"It's because it's Asia that I'm okay with it."

That gave her pause.

"Asia's kind to anyone though. Doesn't that worry you, Yuuji?"

Yuuji continued walking without a change in expression.

"Yes, Asia is kind to anyone. But Asia doesn't just _trust_ anyone. So if she trusts them, I can tell that they aren't bad people deep down. And they'll never betray her, because trust like that is a heavy thing."

Rias had raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You know how animals don't seem to like certain people, even if they haven't done anything to warrant it? That's the kind of intuition Asia has. And that's the kind of intuition you can rely on, even if she's not quite conscious of it herself."

Rias stopped walking for a moment.

Yuuji turned to the tired, world-weary woman who had fallen behind, who responded by letting out a loud sigh and burying her face in her hand.

"She's small, she's cute, she's innocent… Asia is a puppy, isn't she?"

Yuuji smirked.

* * *

When lunchtime rolled around, Yuuji was almost lured out of his absent-minded examining of the window by a commotion at his classroom door.

Almost.

Unaware as his fellow classmate were busy fawning over and worshiping the figure that had materialized at the door.

Unaware of the adoring words and high-pitched squeals of the girls, or the admiring (lustful) stares of the boys that followed their goddess into the room, as she locked her eyes on a single figure, sweeping past her worshipers.

Unaware as seeing the attention of their goddess _elsewhere_ broke the hearts of everyone present.

Unimaginably jealous of her preparing to bestow her blessings on a single mortal.

Which was the homemade lunch held in her hands.

A polite cough.

Then another.

Belatedly, he turned.

"Oh, it's just Akeno."

Blissfully unaware still of the shock and horror from the crowd that followed _that_ causal statement, Yuuji returned to his careful examination of the windowpane.

The Nadeshiko's perfect smile twitched, and her slender fingers tightened their grip on the wrapped bento in her hands.

"Helllloo Yuuji-kun~."

There was a dangerous edge there.

Once again ignored, as Yuuji tilted his head, puzzled.

"What are you doing here? This isn't your class."

"It's lunch time _Yuuji-kun."_

It took a special kind of talent to make another person's name sound like a threat, and a special kind of talent to ignore it.

He blinked at the clock in surprise.

"So it is. Excuse me Akeno, I need to go down to the cafeteria."

He rose from his seat.

*Twitch*

"Yuuji."

"Hmm?"

*Twitch*

"Come with me."

"Now?"

*Twitch*

"Yes now."

"But it's lunch time."

The twitching of her smile reached violent levels.

The room slowly seemed to darken, and the ordinary students found themselves inexplicably shying away from a corner of the room, regardless of whether it contained their idol.

The more savvy among their ranks picking up the subtle tang of ozone... of a gathering storm.

" _That's. The. Point."_

"You owe me over that little stunt you pulled last night Yuuji-kun."

She thrust the wrapped lunch in his face. Unease forgotten, one of the onlookers swooned.

Several others were crying.

Several eternal grudges were formed.

The usual.

Unconcerned, Yuuji looked up at her.

"I see."

Akeno's full hands prevented her from trying to tear out her hair.

* * *

"Thanks."

Akeno handed him a lunch, once they were up on the rooftop.

Seating herself on the bench beside him.

Just like when they'd met the first time.

"Listen Yuuji… I'm sorry for blowing up at you like that at the church. I... I don't have the best history with Fallen Angels."

"There's nothing to forgive. It's been made clear that I was the one acting strange."

"Thanks… but I'm still mad at you for choking me out like that."

... Also a little happy that he hadn't asked for details as to _why_ she hated Fallen Angels.

She had her priorities, though.

"I'm sorry, I thought you'd enjoy it more if I did it that way."

She scowled and blushed.

"Jerk."

"Sorry. What I really meant was that I needed you out of the way without hurting you, and that was the safest I could come up with."

"You could have tried _asking_ for help."

She gave him a reproachful stare.

"I was just being selfish, in the end. Is that really a good reason to ask you to move against Rias?"

"I…"

"Of course it isn't. Your relationship with Rias is way more important than..."

"Than what Yuuji?"

Her voice was barely more than a whisper now.

"I… nothing. Forget I said anything."

He turned away with a scowl.

"Finish the thought Yuuji."

"I…"

He bit off the words and went silent.

Gently, Akeno pulled his head back to look at her, hands on either cheek.

"You lovely, stupid boy. I don't know what it is that makes you place so little value on your own well-being, but don't think we haven't noticed. That's part of the reason you and I are here, after all."

Akeno would admit that the narrowing of Yuuji's eyes and the flash of hostility stung, even if it was expected.

"... And?"

He was _expecting_ her to condemn him, wasn't he?

He was expecting them _all_ to turn on him, just like that.

As if _obedience_ had been his only virtue.

"I think it pained her to admit, but Rias felt that I'd be the best choice to talk to you."

Yuuji's eyes remained suspicious, but there was an unspoken question there.

Akeno closed her eyes briefly, taking a long, slow breath.

"It was familiar in a way, what you did back there. After all, Rias did the same thing for Koneko, for Yuuto... for me."

Still holding his cheeks, Akeno looked deeply into Yuuji's eyes with all the sincerity she could muster.

"So this is what we're going to do; if you're going to refuse to find value in your own life, _then we'll just do it for you_. If you can't smile for your own sake, we'll smile for you, until the day you can smile with us... so stop trying to do everything alone, and try relying on your family, even if it's just a little, okay?"

With eyes full of compassion, Akeno wrapped her arms around his head, pulling Yuuji down into a gentle embrace.

Pretending how he stiffened and went rigid in her arms at the word 'family'.

Gradually, tentatively, he returned the embrace.

Soon, he was gripping Akeno so tightly she could feel bruises forming.

That was okay, though... Kazami Yuuji had understood her words, and for Akeno, that was enough for now.

* * *

They stayed like that for some time, before Yuuji seemed to snap to his senses, pushing his head back and holding her at arm's length.

Yuuji stood up, and shortly after Akeno followed suit.

He was facing away, but his back seemed just a little less tense than before.

As he turned back to her, Yuuji paused for a moment and frowned, clearly struggling with his words.

Akeno could be patient.

She kept that gentle, almost motherly smile on her face, and waited for her cute underclassman to speak.

With a quiet inhale, the young man marshaled his thoughts and offered a brief, succinct rejoinder optimized to best convey his opinions in an efficient fashion;

"Huh."

Yuuji had returned (regressed?) to the same blank look he always had.

Akeno could be patient.

Yuuji clearly had more to say…. a pregnant pause filled the air.

Didn't he?

.

.

.

He didn't, did he?

This was why Akeno hardly liked any boys.

Right as her smile began to twitch for the umpteenth time that day, Yuuji spoke up once more.

"I don't really understand it to be honest. I don't understand what you all see in me, why you're willing to keep trying…."

Had she really not gotten through to him at all?

"But if that's what you're asking of me, then I accept. I don't know if I'll ever be able to give the answer you want to hear, but... I'll try to answer that hope you've placed in me."

Kazami Yuuji then put on the most genuine smile he could, a stiff and lopsided thing that looked a little painful, but that didn't matter as his arms reached out and wrapped around her-

She let out a little squeak of surprise, before relaxing and returning the embrace, awkward and wooden though it was.

Only for a moment, though.

Not quite releasing him, she held him at a bit of a distance.

Her stern expression contradicted by the sultry tease in her voice.

"You know, this doesn't mean I forgive you just yet."

"Oh? Well I wouldn't want to let a grudge fester. How can I make it up to you, Akeno-san?"

As his tone grew serious, Akeno put a finger to her lips with a sly smile.

"Hmm, I think I could forgive my _adorable_ underclassman, if he gave his Onee-san a kiss~."

Teasing underclassman was a well-loved hobby of hers, though there were few Akeno would admit it to.

Kazami Yuuji had definitely earned a bit of embarrassment.

She'd made a grave mistake though.

In the roller coaster of emotions that had led them to this point, Akeno had forgotten some of the finer details of _who_ she was dealing with.

"Well okay then."

Akeno didn't have a chance to be surprised at the easy acceptance, because her first kiss involved far more _tongue_ than she had expected.

The way he roamed every inch of her mouth left her feeling naked and exposed, and she'd take the headache if God would hear her prayer to never let it end.

Then eternity passed her by, the lingering warmth on her lips accompanied by a needy whine as the breeze chilled them.

"Forgive me yet?"

A heavy-lidded, dazed nod was all she could manage, directed towards the blurry outline of a smirk that dominated her gaze.

Yuuji let her go, and she managed a single, wobbly step before sinking to her knees, panting heavily.

Akeno's head was spinning, so she put a hand on either of her burning cheeks, vainly trying to steady herself.

Vaguely, it struck her that this was nothing more than Yuuji's show of sincerity, and a giddy, almost drunken giggle escaped.

Yuuji regarded her silently.

As her vision came gradually back into focus, Akeno stared up at his smirking face, cheeks still burning.

"That was my first kiss, you know."

There was something vaguely reproachful in her tone.

"Mine too."

"... Liar... no one's that good without practice."

... Suddenly, that seemed like a mark against him.

Yuuji merely shrugged, and focused his gaze _behind_ her _._

Belatedly, Akeno became aware of a faint sputtering noise.

Turning, she slowly let her gaze drift to the other members of the household.

She could vaguely remember that some time, ages ago, they'd agreed that Akeno would talk to Yuuji _first._

Rias was the source of the noise, hands across her face (but not covering her eyes), cheeks just as red as Akeno's.

Kiba, had politely averted his gaze, but not before stepping behind their youngest member, dropping his hands across Koneko's eyes.

Koneko's hands were stacked on top of his.

Akeno had never been this embarrassed in her life.

How long had they been there?

It was shameful, it was humiliating, it was… kind of hot.

Rias seemed to be trying to speak.

Failing, certainly, but trying nonetheless.

"I... you... Akeno…"

As her best friend struggled to form a sentence, Yuuji beat her to it.

Unsurprisingly.

"Are you alright Buchou? Your face is kind of flushed."

"Ah... I... you k-k-k-k-kissed."

Akeno had recovered enough at this point to make her move, smiling slyly.

She swept to her feet, and flung her arms around Yuuji's neck from the side.

He tilted his head away with an annoyed expression, but she leaned closer with heavy-lidded eyes and a seductive smile.

"Fufufu now now Yuuji-kun, you wouldn't be so cruel as to rock a girls world like that and then run away, would you? You need to take responsibility for a maiden's heart~."

"Of course. I wouldn't have kissed you if I wasn't prepared to follow through."

The oddly serious tone he used made Akeno giggle once more.

"A-A-Akeno! Quit your flirting! T-this was supposed to be serious!"

Her King stamped her foot, but her furious blush undermined the authoritative tone Rias was attempting, and so Akeno just shot her a playful wink.

"Ara, sorry Rias, but looks like I'll be going on ahead~."

As the two older girls went back and forth, Kiba, who had dropped his hands to comfortably rest on Koneko's shoulders, leaned his head down.

Just as Koneko tilted her head back to meet his eyes.

"Do you think she knew we were watching?"

Koneko nodded after a moment.

"Akeno-senpai's pervy like that."

Not for the first time, Akeno reddened with embarrassment, even as her grip on Yuuji tightened and a giggle escaped her lips.

This changed suddenly as she recoiled in surprise, along with everyone else, from a sudden outburst of sound, at once easily recognizable and totally, utterly foreign.

Kazami Yuuji had begun to laugh, loudly and deeply.

As the startled Devils stared at him in mute shock, he continued to laugh, one hand on his his head as he tilted it back.

The laughter unceasing, he walked past them, opening the door and leaving them behind with a shake of his head.

The sound of the closing door broke the spell, and soon, nothing but smiles remained on the rooftop.

* * *

Kiba stared at the now closed door.

Letting out a chuckle, he turned back to the girls.

"That was certainly unexpected. I've got nothing to add, Buchou, so I'll take my leave."

He walked towards the door.

Koneko looked to Akeno for a moment, before shaking her head and following suit, leaving the two older Devils along on the rooftop.

"Smitten already, Akeno?"

Rias was giving her best friend a faintly skeptical look, one thin brow arched.

"Oh please Rias, not to sound vain, but between the two of us we have _hundreds_ of admirers. Do you really think I'd still be a virgin if I was that easy?"

Akeno rolled her eyes as she spoke.

"Well… I guess you didn't expect someone to one-up your flirting so easily."

Rias guessed.

Rias was a bit too used to being on the other end of the teasing, so she'd enjoy it while it lasted.

"No… but I've never realized how _exciting_ that could be. After all, Yuuji is a really good kisser. I mean, a _really_ good kisser."

Akeno's eyes had gotten unfocused, breath husky as she brushed two long, delicate fingers against her plush lips.

Lips that still felt just a little-

Rias snapped her fingers in front of her friends' face.

Akeno shook her head lightly to clear it, smiling once more.

"I don't quite know how I feel about him, and I certainly don't know how he feels about me. But just like he said, I wouldn't have tried anything if I wasn't willing to follow through. The last thing I want is to hurt him more."

"Haah... I can agree with you on that. As long as you're certain, then. Our troublesome junior would never admit it, but he really can't be left alone. And if that's the case, there's no one I trust more."

Rias leaned against her friend as she spoke.

"Now that that's out of the way, why don't you say what you actually want to say, Akeno?"

Rias knew her too well to miss the cues.

"He took them in without a second thought, even after what they did to him."

So that was it.

Of course it was.

"He has every right to hold a grudge, but it's clear he doesn't hate Fallen Angels at all."

Akeno paused for a moment.

"Rias, how many guys will I meet who could accept _every_ part of me? I… I might never get another chance like this."

"So… are you going to tell him?"

Akeno shook her head, eyes conflicted.

"No. Not yet. I know what I said, it's just, I'm just…"

She didn't need to say anymore.

Rias drew her friend into a warm hug, rubbing comforting circles on her back.

'Shhh... I know it's still hard for you. I'm here for you, no matter what, so just take your time, okay?"

She didn't say it, but Rias knew that even if Akeno thought Yuuji could accept the truth, that didn't make the idea any less terrifying for her.

Akeno had enough scars of her own.

Rias was no stranger to friction with the family legacy.

She was no stranger to jealousy either, but she kept that to herself as well.

It must be nice being able to choose who she wanted to be with.

... At least one of them could be happy.

Akeno's arms tightened for a moment, trapping her.

"Now that that's out of the way, Rias~. Why don't you ask what you actually wanted to ask?"

Rias pushed herself at arms length, and Akeno didn't fight it.

Her knowing smile widened as Rias squirmed and looked down guiltily, cheeks flushed.

"How... h-how was it?"

* * *

Yuuji opened the door to his home.

Rias had sent him straight home after school, excusing him from club activities for the time being.

"Welcome home, Yuuji-sama."

As he stepped in and closed the door, Yuuji was confronted by the pair of women who had spoken.

Both of whom were bowing low in front of him, some distance away from the landing where Yuuji stood.

Beside them, a younger, blonde woman shuffled awkwardly, partially bowed as well, but shooting confused looks towards the other two.

With a put-upon sigh, Yuuji decided to start with the obvious issue.

"Why the hell are the two of you still in your pajamas?"

The two women, Raynare and Kalawarner, flinched at that, looking up slightly without breaking from their bows.

When Yuuji glared impatiently, the two Fallen Angels quivered and bowed even lower.

It was Asia that spoke up.

"They don't have any other clothes Yuuji-san. Mine are...I only have dresses... mine are too small! I'm sorry!"

Asia wailed, with small tears in the corners of her eyes.

Yuuji stared at her for a long moment.

... Just as the tension reached unbearable levels, Yuuji let out a snort and looked away, covering his mouth with one hand.

Asia covered her eyes with a cry, dropping to her knees.

"You're so mean! I'm… I'm still growing!"

"... I didn't laugh."

The half-hearted excuse was ruined by his refusal to make eye contact.

"You definitely did."

Mostly, he didn't just didn't want to see that pouting face.

"Sorry Asia, that was cruel of me. I'm sure you'll have a growth spurt any day now."

Asia puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, looking away with a huff.

Throughout this exchange, the Fallen Angels had just watched in growing confusion.

Face neutral once more, Yuuji turned to the two women, who met his eyes hesitantly.

"Can't you just make clothes with magic? I've seen Rias and Akeno do it."

Kalawarner was the one to answer.

"You are correct Yuuji-sama, we can but…"

Yuuji let out another long sigh.

"But I didn't give you permission to use magic, did I?"

A meek nod from the two Fallen.

"I suppose it's time to get this out of the way. Couch. Now."

As the girls hastened to obey, Yuuji slipped off his shoes and followed behind, at a slower pace.

As he stepped further into the house, an appetizing smell drifted from the kitchen.

Odd that he'd only noticed now, with an open floor plan like this, but he supposed he just had other things on his mind.

"Was someone cooking?"

Come to think of it, there was a pot on the stove.

Raynare and Kalawarner stiffened at his inquiry, before Raynare hesitantly answered for them both.

"Y-yes Yuuji-kun."

Her eyes widened in horror at her mistake.

"I-I mean, yes Yuuji-sama! I-we can both cook, so with Asia's help we were presumptuous enough to-"

"It smells good."

At his casual remark, the tension eased just a little from the room.

Curiosity satisfied, Yuuji took a seat opposite from the girls.

"T-t-thank you! You're… you're not mad?"

Raynare looked at him meekly, Kalawarner with more composed posture, but an equally nervous look.

"For making dinner? I think my heart's just large enough for that level of forgiveness."

Yuuji didn't miss how they immediately sagged in relief.

"Now, why don't we stop dancing around the issue? Ask what you want to ask, and we'll go from there."

The girls flinched and shared nervous glances, before Kalawarner straightened and spoke up.

"Yuuji-sama… what is to become of us?"

Raynare shrunk at her words, but Kalawarner continued to sit upright.

Yuuji tapped a finger on his chin before answering.

"Straight to the point, huh? Good, this would be a pain otherwise. So I'll keep this short. You."

He pointed at Asia.

"And you."

Raynare this time.

"You're going to be joining my class."

.

.

.

Kalawarner didn't understand.

 _He had left her out._

Was he planning to separate them?

Of course he was... she was just the unlucky one being singled out.

Good... she couldn't bear it if... hold on, what was that last bit?

Asia didn't seem to catch the implications, but Raynare's eyes were full of terror.

What was he planning to do to Kala?

Why did she have to stay?

Would he make her-

...Wait, class?

"Raynare has already proven that she can pass for a highschool student. Don't take this the wrong way, Kalawarner, but you're the most grown up here, so I thought you'd prefer a job or something."

He ignored the guilty flinch from the black-haired young woman.

A job… what did he mean?

What sort of work was he planning for her, did he intend for her to-

"Because my house is boring. Staying here all the time would probably be hard."

"Huh?"

"I said, my house is boring. So what do you think, Kalawarner?"

The woman in question along with Raynare, blinked several times, confusion evident on both their faces.

Not Asia though.

She had just processed the 'joining my class' part, and was only seeing sparkles.

"School? Jobs? Yuuji-sama, forgive us, but we don't understand."

"I'm a Devil, but I'm also a highschool student. So the three of you can follow suit, and be students, or get jobs as well. I can provide for the four of us if I have to, but that would probably be a pain, so I'd rather not if I don't have to."

This time, it was Raynare who responded first.

"N-n-no, we don't want to impose!"

Yuuji smirked.

She froze as soon as the words left her mouth, and slowly turned to find Kalawarner just as shocked as she was.

Impose?

... As if reading their thoughts, Yuuji's smirk widened

Asia, finally able to see past the stars in her eyes, flung her arms around the dark-haired Fallen.

"Yes! I want to go to school with Yuuji-san and Ray-san and Kala-san! Please!"

Yuuji's smirk softened ever so slightly into a more genuine smile.

"Well? You heard Asia. What do you say?"

Kalawarner nodded.

"I-I can work. I will work."

"Then can you teach?"

"Teach, Yuuji-sama?"

"Teach students. Rias can make it happen, if you want."

"Yes! Kalawarner can teach! She's done it before, she-"

Raynare went pale as a sheet, hands over her mouth.

Kalawarner's response was little more than a whisper, eyes wide and unfocused.

"Teach... s-students? At a school? I… yes... Yuuji-sama. I can be a teacher. I was an Angel of Knowledge before.."

 _Before her wings... before the children, before she…_

She shook her head furiously, dispelling the thoughts before it was too late.

Unaware that it had taken several moments to do so.

"Oi. You don't have to tell me, but... are you sure you're alright with that?"

Yuuji's blank gaze focused offered just a hint of what might have been concern.

"It's... It is fine Yuuji-sama. I wish to be useful. If you wish for me to work, then work I shall."

Kalawarner met his gaze firmly as she did so.

Until Raynare addressed the elephant in the room.

"But Yuuji-sama, the other night, you said, you said that you'd…"

"Punish you?"

A mute nod in response.

The tension had returned to the room, but if Yuuji had noticed, he wasn't giving any sign.

"Well, you are going to be forced to help out your natural enemy with the dark deeds he commits on his master's behalf."

They stiffened a bit at that, and Asia grew concerned once more, even if she didn't really get it.

"After all, I don't have a familiar yet, and while handing out fliers isn't really all that bad, it would still go faster with extra hands."

"Fliers?"

The girls were staring at him as if he was speaking the wrong language.

"Of course, it would probably cause issues if you went with me on requests, so we'll leave that alone for now. On nights like that, the responsibility of you two will be keeping Asia company, understood?"

It didn't take a genius to understand his hidden meaning.

"Yes, Yuuji-sama."

The two Fallen Angels stood up once more, and bowed.

"Also, that thing that you're doing. Stop it."

Yuuji vaguely gestured a finger as he spoke.

"The... thing?"

The two women looked at each other.

"The bowing, the 'Yuuji-sama', the asking permission to take care of basic needs, all of that. Call me what you want, and stop expecting to need permission for stupid things. While our fates are tied for the foreseeable future, most of the time that won't mean all that much. While Rias will probably scold me if we don't keep up appearances in public, she knows exactly what I'm doing here."

Yuuji turned his head to the third girl in the room.

"Asia."

She straightened up in surprise.

"I think it would be best if for now, you didn't leave the house on your own. Make sure one of us accompanies you. We'll have to be careful until things died down, but just to be clear, you're not prisoners, this isn't a jail. This is home."

He didn't miss the looks they gave him at the word _home_ , but any words were cut off as he let out a sudden groan.

"Oh wait, that is a problem. Hang on."

Without further preamble, Yuuji pulled out his phone and flipped it open, while the nervousness level in the room steadily increased.

"Rias, I need your help… no not that kind of help, calm down. We're safe, it's just… my house is too small... yes my house, could you do something about it?... why? Because I believe in you, that's why... Rias? Rias are you still there?... Oh you just dropped your phone... so you will take care of it? Great, I knew I could count on you Rias … are you sure you're okay? Your voice sounds strange."

A moment later, Yuuji hung up.

The room was silent.

Yuuji just rolled his eyes as Raynare and Kalawarner stared at the floor.

"Spit it out you two."

"You… why are you being so _kind_?"

Raynare was trembling as she asked. Kalawarner was only a little better.

"I mean, you said you understood… but, why us? Why me!? I killed you, Yuuji, and you just brushed it aside like it was nothing! Why would you care!? Why would you try to save us!?"

Raynare was yelling now, tears flying as she stood.

The other Fallen remained seated, but bit her lip and looked at the floor, trembling as well.

Asia hesitated, looking like she wanted to reach out but having no idea how.

"A long time ago, a woman saved a child who had no reason at all to be alive. She didn't know the first thing about raising a child, but she took the boy in anyways and did her best to raise him into a halfway decent man, and give him a reason of his own to live. And then, before he could find his answer… she left him alone again."

Yuuji spoke in a distant tone, no longer quite with them in the room.

... A few seconds passed, but the brief pause felt like an eternity of silence that no one had the courage to break.

"But I think... she always hoped that if that boy ever found someone in the same position, he'd reach his hand out in turn. Even if he didn't have his answer. Even if he wasn't sure how he'd help them. So that's what I'm going to do."

His voice turned firm with conviction, and Yuuji rose from his seat, taking the time to meet each of them in the eyes as he did so.

"Raynare. Kalawarner. Asia. Let me help you. I don't know how I'm going to do it just yet, but let me try. Please."

... With that, he straightened his arms at his side and bowed low, as if asking them for a favor.

No reply, as Yuuji held his bow.

... Still no reply, and slowly Yuuji looked up, ready for…

Three women staring at him, glistening tears streaming down their faces.

Before he could say anything, the dam burst, and Asia and Raynare flung themselves at him, wailing.

As their arms wrapped around him, he was forced back into his chair, which promptly tipped over, spilling them to the floor in a tangled, sobbing pile.

Yuuji laid there, staring up at the ceiling for a moment as the girls buried their faces against him, sobbing loudly.

"This is gross."

"Waaah- Yuuji- d-don't... be so mean!"

"I'm supposed to be punishing you, Raynare."

"Just let me have this for now!"

"Huuuh… fine. I'll allow five minutes of crying."

The wailing intensified.

* * *

Gradually, the two girls had recovered to let him up off the floor, still on their knees and sniffling.

Yuuji turned to the only person that hadn't joined in, and Kalawarner flushed and looked away, her cheeks just as streaked with tears as the other two girls.

... One eye still on Yuuji, and that worrying smirk.

"Asia. Raynare."

They snapped out of their sniffling and looked up at him.

"Aren't you forgetting someone? Kalawarner looks lonely."

With a betrayed look, the woman in question snapped her head back to him, spluttering excuses and waving her arms about in front of herself frantically.

 _Too late._

The wailing renewed as the couch she was on was the next to tip over, Kalawarner stammering, squirming with bright red cheeks as the two smaller, weeping girls clung to her.

Satisfied, Yuuji left the room to find a dry shirt.

Later, once the excitement died down, the girls had changed, the two Fallen Angels now aware they could use their magic freely to do so.

Though, Yuuji had promised to take them shopping for real clothes soon, waving off any protests.

Dinner, which had been forgotten up to that point, was very much cold, but Asia had insisted that something about it was still warm.

Yuuji couldn't help but agree.

... He couldn't remember the last time he'd sat at a full dinner table.

* * *

The last one to shower that evening, Yuuji re-entered the living room to find the three girls cuddled up on the couch together, already in their sleepwear.

Asia had an innocent enough white nightgown that reached a little shy of her knees that she'd pulled from her luggage, while Raynare had created a significantly shorter, and significantly less innocent black one with her magic.

Kalawarner had created hers as well, opting for a sheer, maroon nightie than strained against her more generous assets, as well as a short, matching housecoat.

When he approached, Raynare immediately twisted around to him (The hallway being behind the couch), to press a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture.

Stepping around quietly, Yuuji found that the small human, nestled between the two taller women, was fast asleep, leaning her head on Kalawarner's shoulder.

The two Fallen Angels had fond smiles on their faces as they stared down at her, and Yuuji couldn't help wonder if he'd ever looked that peaceful.

No, no... not in this lifetime.

Yuuji was snapped out of his musings by an unwelcome buzzing, coming from the pocket of his pajamas.

He tended to keep his work phone close by when he showered, but he had been hoping that that wouldn't prove necessary for a few days.

Waving away the two questioning gazes, for now, Yuuji headed to the bedroom to avoid waking Asia.

Closing the door behind him, he flipped open his phone and brought it to his ears.

"Terrible timing, JB. I'll have to pass."

"Sorry, 9029, but that's not an option this time."

Using his call-sign over the phone told Yuuji all he needed to know.

"Good grief. 9029 reporting for duty."

* * *

He didn't tell them what was in the case when Yuuji told them he was 'leaving for work'.

Nor did he tell Raynare and Kalawarner what kind of work he was leaving for at this hour of the night.

But that was fine, for now.

They were well aware they had no right to be prying into his business, and they had a far more important task to focus on anyways.

For the first time in forever, Raynare and Kalawarner had someone other than each other, who was more than worth protecting.

In what would surely become their regular sleeping arrangement, Asia was tucked snugly in between the two Fallen Angels.

As safe as could be.

* * *

In the morning, both Rias and Akeno came to pick Yuuji for school, and to check on his three 'guests'.

This time they were awake, but any serious topic was cut off by Yuuji asking if she 'could free up some desks' for Raynare and Asia, and make Kalawarner his new homeroom teacher 'or something'.

"Yuuji."

The headache was starting bright and early today.

"Yes, Buchou?"

She found the way he tilted his head in confusion both a little adorable, and immensely frustrating.

The hand Akeno demurely used to cover her mouth in no way hid her giggling.

"You really expect me to be able to pull off two transfers, and a new hire first thing in the morning?"

She didn't actually want the answer, but people don't always get what they want.

"Absolutely. I, Kazami Yuuji, believe fully and wholeheartedly in the abilities of my King."

His formal tone caused renewed giggles to come from behind her.

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"Buchou... are you alright? Your cheeks are a little red, did you need to lay down for a bit? _"_

Rias couldn't see it on his face, but she could _hear_ his smirk.

Akeno's giggles grew in volume, while the other three women in the room were busy looking anywhere but her direction.

Rias sagged in defeat.

"You're awful, you know that? Fine, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for Kalawarner-san. She can stay in the clubroom for today. Eager, sudden transfers I can pull off, but it'll take a bit more work for a sudden new hire. Stop laughing, Akeno, you're going to be helping with this too."

"Ufufu, Yes, Buchou~."

"'Sigh'. Now that that's taken care of, how are these three settling in? Any _problems_ I should be aware of?"

No one missed the chill in the air.

"No, Buchou, no issues to report. Girls, anything you'd like to add?"

Asia stood up first, smiling.

"Th-thank you again for letting me stay with Yuuji-san! And thank you for enrolling me in school!"

Rias hadn't actually enrolled her yet, but the smiling Sister, with her grateful little bow, had unwittingly trapped her into doing just that.

Yuuji's knowing smirk and yet another giggle from Akeno told her they were fully aware, but Rias couldn't quite bring herself to be angry.

"You're welcome, Asia-chan. Akeno and I will be in the grade above you, but feel free to come to us if you need any help. My door is always open."

Yuuji noticed that she hadn't brought the matter of reincarnation up, but he appreciated that Rias wasn't trying to push.

Sensing they were finished, the two Fallen Angels, that had risen to stand side by side, stepped forward to bow and speak as one.

"Thank you for allowing us to stay with Yuuji-sama."

Rias turned to them at that.

"You are welcome, serve him faithfully, and you and I will get along just fine."

Rias smiled politely.

"Oh! That reminds me, I nearly forgot why I was here!"

Akeno clapped her hands together as she spoke, drawing all eyes to her.

Narrowing her eyes briefly at the two Fallen Angels, she swept over to Yuuji, and threw both arms around his neck, pressing closely against his chest and nuzzling against his neck.

"Akeno! Now is not the time!"

Rias scolded her.

"Now is exactly the time, Buchou. I'm sure the message got through~. By the way Yuuji, you and I need to have a talk soon…. Privately~."

The man in question raised an eyebrow.

"We do?"

"Yep, don't make a girl wait, Yuuji-kun."

Yuuji was pretty sure he knew what Akeno wanted to talk about.

That didn't explain, however, why every other girl in the room was blushing.

He had a distinct feeling that trying to find out would be a pain though, so he'd ignore it.

JB _had_ always complained about how dense he was.

Now was as good a chance as any to own it.

"I'll look forward to classes with you, Asia."

She perked up and smiled.

"Mhm! Please take care of me, Yuuji-san!"

"And I'll look forward to learning from you, _Kala-Sensei_."

She blinked and reddened at the nickname, but recovered quickly to smile politely and nod.

"And…"

Yuuji smirked.

"I'll look forward to classes with you as well, _Yuuma-chan_."

'Yuuma-chan' buried her face in her hands with a squeal, as Yuuji's smirk widened.

School was about to get livelier than ever.

* * *

The surprise debut of two new transfer students had went over well.

And when Yuuji thought 'well', he meant that two new fan clubs had likely been born on the spot.

On an unrelated note, it seemed he had one of those as well.

Some people had no taste.

Asia was a bit shy at first, but when the preliminary questioning revealed her excitement for being at the school and having so many chances to make friends, the hearts in the room melted.

Some of those hearts subsequently broke when she couldn't contain her excitement at sitting next to Yuuji.

'Amano Yuuma' was playful and outgoing, teasing without being cruel, and innocent without being naive.

Suffice to say, she drove the boys (and a few of the girls) wild.

Having offered the side seat to Asia, she took the window seat directly in front of Yuuji.

That too, did not go unnoticed.

Given the personal visit of one of the Great Onee-sama's earlier in the week, and harem rumors had begun.

Not that Yuuji was aware of any rumors... that required a minimal level of attention payed to small-talk.

* * *

Occult Research Club room.

Yuuji had led Raynare and Asia there, though Raynare was still playing the part of 'Yuuma'.

Though, Yuuji had noticed something during the day.

He had spent his time carefully watching over her and Asia, and come to a bit of a realization.

'Raynare' might have been her true name, but 'Yuuma' was the true personality.

The cheerful, bubbly girl with bright eyes was who she really was, not the poorly designed facade of a Fallen Angel assassin.

It was to be expected.

Many people who should be too kind for such work had a disconnect between their home and work identity.

Take JB, for example.

'Julia Bardera' was a kind-hearted airhead who worried too much.

As his case officer, however, 'JB' was cold, calculating, always ready to make the hard calls.

True, it was 'Harudera Yuria' since moving permanently to Japan, but Asako had always called her JB, so he had picked up the habit as well.

Back to Raynare, though, that would be something to watch out for.

Since Yuuji had known JB for so long, he was fully aware of the stress that disconnect could bring.

He'd spent more than one sleepless night comforting his erstwhile superior when she'd given an order with a particularly steep price.

Judging by her actions, Raynare had the exact same problem.

Unfortunately, she had been denied that ever so small kindness of not being in the field herself.

The blood on her hands was all too real.

Arriving at the old school building, however, forced Yuuji to put those thoughts aside.

Asia looked a little nervous, but only gave him a muddled look when Yuuji assured her he wasn't in a cult.

Raynare stifled a laugh though, so at least the joke worked to some degree.

The clubroom wasn't empty, though it was almost completely silent.

On one couch was Kalawarner, sitting rigidly, and on the other couch was Koneko, eating chips.

"Kala-chan!"

Raynare chirped.

"Hello, Kala-san."

Asia said with a bit more reserve, but just as much joy.

Kalawarner immediately brightened and stood up, returning the greetings as the girls passed Yuuji, who remained at the door.

As she returned the hugs of the smaller girls latched on to her, she turned her attention to Yuuji with a polite nod.

"Hello, Yuuji-sama. How was your day?"

Yuuji frowned at the greeting.

"Didn't I tell you to drop the 'sama'?"

Kalawarner nodded in response.

"You also told me to call you whatever I wanted, Yuuji-sama."

Kalawarner had a bit of a smirk as she said that. Good, maybe she was relaxing a bit.

"Fine, fine. I'm back, _Kala-chan._ "

Yuuji was the one wearing the smirk as the slightly taller woman flushed and looked away.

Ignoring that for now, he let Asia and Raynare sit on one couch with her, chattering excitedly to her about their day, while he took the other couch beside Koneko.

"You two getting along?"

"Yes Senpai. Though there's a chasm between us we'll probably never cross."

Ah, that was to be expected… why was Kala blushing again?

She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"The Fallen Angel-san doesn't like snacks."

Koneko, as if it explained everything.

To be fair, it probably did.

Yuuji stared down at the white-haired girl.

Just as she was starting to squirm uncomfortably, he tilted his head to one side.

"Isn't that a good thing though?"

An eyebrow rose in question.

"If she doesn't like snacks, that's one less person who would ask you to share."

Koneko's eyes widened for a moment, before she smiled slightly and nodded her head a few times.

"I was naive, Senpai. Let's get along, Kalawarner-san."

Kalawarner flinched at hearing her name, blinked, and then politely returned the smile, albeit with a bemused expression.

"I would like that, Koneko-san. I'll be in your care."

"Just like that, Koneko?"

"Don't look at me like I'm the weird one, Senpai. I have less reason to hate them than you do."

Koneko paused for a moment.

"Trust doesn't come that easily, but I trust you, and Senpai's the scariest person I've ever met."

Yuuji regarded her for a moment, before smiling thoughtfully.

"True, I've heard mutual suffering helps foster trust. I was planning to train Raynare and Kalawarner as well. Haven't asked Rias though, yet."

No one missed how Koneko stiffened at the word 'train'.

She held Yuuji's gaze for a moment, before slowly getting to her feet and shuffling over to the other couch.

The two Fallen tensed as she reached for them, but not sensing any hostility, allowed her to continue, though they kept wary eyes on her.

... As she reached out a hand, and patted both of them consolingly on the shoulder.

Their bewilderment was met with an expression of the deepest sympathy.

Which was the point when Rias and Akeno entered the room.

"Is there something I should know about?"

Rias had a puzzled tilt to her head.

"I'll tell you in a moment, Buchou. I think there's something I need to take care of first."

Yuuji's attention was on Akeno.

Immediately upon seeing him, she had beckoned him over, then had looked down shyly, bangs covering her face.

"... Okay then, Yuuji. Take as long as you need."

A soft smile, as Yuuji walked past her, Akeno already leaving the room.

* * *

"So? What did you want to talk about, Akeno?"

The girl in question was fidgeting in the empty classroom on the first floor, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Well… you said you were willing to follow through. You know, when you k-kissed me. So are we… you know?"

This was a lot harder than Akeno had expected.

All her carefully thought out words, all of Yuuto's advice, had seemingly flown from her head.

"Are we what? Akeno, spit it out."

She flushed at his words.

"Are we… dating?"

Yuuji blinked in confusion.

"Dating? Us?"

Akeno sagged a little.

"Do you… do you not want to?"

"I'm a little out of touch with these sort of things."

But that wasn't a no, was it?

... Was it?

"Then, do you like me, Yuuji?"

"I…"

She filled in the gaps left by his hesitation.

"You don't have to force yourself, Yuuji. I understand."

Akeno's smile looked more than a little lonely.

Of course he didn't like _her_.

Yuuji didn't seem like the sort to like someone for their body.

Really, what else was there to Himejima Akeno?

A pretty little face, to hide how ugly and empty she was on the inside.

He stood there for a moment, silent.

Akeno could feel her heart grow heavier and heavier, and the last of her nerves fray.

Turning on her heel, she-

"Like a painting."

"Huh?"

"You were like a painting, Akeno. Too beautiful and elegant to seem real. Honestly, when we first met, I really wanted to run away. It felt like my presence there would ruin something beautiful."

Was that what everyone thought?

She wasn't… she was more than… wasn't she?

"But…"

Yuuji paused, as if searching for the words he wanted to say.

She could feel just the faintest glimmer of hope, buried somewhere deep.

 _Don't stop Yuuji._

 _Please._

"I want to see more of it."

"More of?... more of what Yuuji?"

Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I mean… this is difficult… what I mean is… dammit."

Yuuji was getting more and more frustrated.

He was struggling, she could tell.

He _kept_ struggling.

Akeno's internal dialogue scattered to the wind as Yuuji grabbed onto her shoulders with both hands and looked deeply in her eyes.

"I want to see more of Himejima Akeno. I want to _know_ more of Himejima Akeno. I don't really understand the why just yet, but that's what I think."

Akeno was quivering a bit.

Had he said the wrong thing?

This was difficult.

Her voice was still quiet.

"Tell me one thing then, please"

"Sure, Akeno."

"Once more, do you... do you like me, Yuuji?"

A firm gaze met hers.

"I do like you, Akeno. I can't quite say in what way, but that much is true. I wouldn't have kissed you if I wasn't interested at all."

"...Okay, Yuuji. I think that's enough for now. Then are we…"

"Dating?"

A wordless nod.

"I'm willing to, if that's what you want, Akeno."

Her response was a weak smile.

... She was shaking a little still.

Yuuji was starting to be bothered by it, but a noise from around the corner stopped him before he could speak up.

Meeting Kiba's smiling face, he raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Kiba. Did Buchou send you?"

"Yes, Yuuji-kun, you were taking a while so Buchou was a little concerned."

"Oh, okay. I think we're done… almost? Oi, Akeno, snap out of it… Akeno?"

Her shaking had increased. What the hell was going on-

With a loud, joyous cheer, Akeno spun and flung herself at Kiba, throwing her arms around his neck and spinning both of them about.

As if expecting it, Kiba caught her, patting her on the back.

"I did it Yuuto! He said yes! You were right you were right!"

With a smile of almost saintly patience, Kiba kept a firm but gentle grip as the laughing, beaming girl shook him about.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it? I knew you could do it."

Kiba smiled fondly as the laughing girl hugged him tighter.

"Alright, alright. You know Rias is just dying to hear how it went, so why not go fill her in before she gets herself even more stressed out for nothing?"

Akeno released him, sweeping around the corner without so much as a backward glance.

Giddy laughter trailing down the hall in her wake.

Yuuji could only stare in awe, wondering when the world had stopped making sense.

* * *

"...Kiba."

"Yes, Yuuji-kun?"

"There was a girl here who looked just like Akeno. Did you see her?"

Kiba laughed at that.

"She might try to hide behind her "Great Onee-sama" title, but Akeno-san is still a teenage girl. They all get excited like that when a boy they like returns their feelings, even if just a little."

"Did she go to you for advice?"

"Yes. It happens from time to time."

"Do the other girls ask as well?"

"Haha, not to sound vain, Yuuji-kun, but _all_ the girls in school recommend me for relationship advice. Not that I understand why, but girls tend to share that kind of thing. It's one of those open secrets, I suppose."

"Then you must have a lot of experience."

Kiba laughed again.

"Not in the slightest. It's just that the girls in the peerage are the only ones who believe me when I tell them."

"You must give good advice then, if it keeps happening."

"I guess so. It's still a mystery to me sometimes."

"So I guess you've known her a long time, if Akeno is that comfortable around you. Haven't the two of you ever considered-?"

Kiba had to take a second to laugh once more, the joy on his face clear to see.

"I was the third person to become the servant of Buchou, Yuuji-kun. I was 11. Rias, Akeno, and Koneko are practically sisters to me. Both of Buchou's parents have given us their blessings to adopt the Gremory name as our own."

"So why don't you?"

"Akeno's surname is a memento of her family, and just like Koneko, I was given my name by Buchou. It's my most cherished possession."

"I see."

Something suddenly fell into place.

"So the reason you're immune to the attentions of the opposite sex...?"

"Yes, Yuuji-kun. Puberty at the Gremory estate."

Images of a petite girl, with long, silvery hair and stern red eyes flashed through Yuuji's head.

"You had it rough too, huh Kiba?"

"Yes Yuuji, I can tell you understand."

The two men of the Gremory household wallowed in shared pain for a moment.

* * *

None of the Gremory peerage took requests that night.

While it was obvious that the tension between Fallen Angels and Devils wouldn't just disappear, they all seemed at least willing to try.

Yuuji couldn't help but notice how Akeno's usual polite manner was strained to its limits, but he was confused to find that it was mixed between hostility and... something else.

Well, as long as they were getting along.

He didn't have any right to pry.

Akeno, Kiba and Koneko all left one after another, leaving Rias alone with Yuuji and his new roommates.

He was a little surprised when Rias asked Raynare, Kalawarner, and Asia to go home without him, but they reluctantly (very reluctantly) agreed when Yuuji told them to go home and get some rest.

"So, Buchou, what did you need?"

Wordlessly, she beckoned him down the hall, to one of the rooms with spare beds.

Facing away from him, Rias slowly reached up to about waist height and fiddled with something.

He raised an eyebrow as her corset fell to the ground.

Then her cape, then her shirt, before she stepped out of her shoes, taking off her socks and skirts next.

Standing in her underwear, Rias turned to face Yuuji, right as she unhooked her bra, letting her breasts bounce free.

One last whisper of fabric, and Rias was naked before him, illuminated by a shaft of moonlight.

She was perfect.

So fragile.

 _ **So vulnerable.**_

 _ **Reaching out those pale, slender arms with a smile marred by desperation.**_

 _ **Desperation... and fear.**_

"I… I know you're with Akeno now, so please don't read any deeper into this. But Yuuji, I need you to have sex with me right now, before it's too late."

'Before it's too late?'

Pushing that aside, Yuuji strode forward.

"If that's what you want Bu- no, Rias."

The girl in question paled a little, as if surprised he'd accept.

"Really? T-that's good, I knew I could count on you. This is my first time, so please be gentle. Or, if you'd prefer~."

Rias batting her eyes at him was blatantly ignored.

... Rias let out a loud yelp as he flicked her on the nose.

"You're trembling, idiot. Don't get carried away."

She flinched a little, taking a half step back as something trailed down the sides of her cheeks.

"Huh? I thought I was- I thought."

Tears.

Rias Gremory was crying.

"What's making you go so far? No, better yet, what do you really want from me, _Buchou_?"

Rias flinched as if he'd struck her.

Why?

She was more than a title she was-

 _He_ was a soldier... in need of an order.

"P-please Yuuji… s _ave me_."

"Yes, Buchou-"

Yuuji's words were cut-off by the unfamiliar magic circle that appeared in the room.

At the sudden appearance, Rias gave a bitter smile, wiping her cheeks.

"Too late huh? Sorry for troubling you Yuuji. Let's just forget about this-"

 ** _A distant, metallic shriek scraped its way past her ears._**

"... Yuuji?"

 ** _It reminded her of a knife being sharpened._**

She went completely, utterly still, not daring to breathe.

 _ **The maddened, grinding scream of a razor across trembling stone.**_

Until there was nothing.

 ** _Until there was nothing but a choked, desperate silence._**

She wanted to scream, to break the silence before it strangled her like a noose around her neck.

 _ **And the blade became a wire, wound tighter and tighter until-**_

Instead, she trembled like a leaf in a gale, whimpering without sound as the vicious breeze pinned her beneath the guillotine's shadow.

 _ **Something snapped.**_

* * *

Grayfia Lucifuge was the maid of the Gremory Household, widely acknowledged as the Strongest Queen of the Underworld.

But the first title, to her, was far more important.

So when the silver-haired beauty appeared in her typical maid's dress, she was ready to prevent her young mistress Rias from doing anything that would bring shame to her, or her family.

 _ **Bottomless.**_

The eyes that burned into her were bottomless, disturbingly dark.

Malice that denied everything, fury born from the very idea that anything could live and breathe in its presence.

... The rational part of her mind told her not to be afraid, not to give ground because she, she was the strong one.

As every single one of her instincts _screamed_ their disbelief.

Then words scraped from _its_ mouth, and she had to wrestle down the shock of hearing that _it_ could speak.

 _ **"Hey... who the hell are you?"**_

She gave a polite bow and spoke, carefully and slowly to avoid even the slightest chance of a misunderstanding.

To avoid something dreadful that could never, _ever_ be undone.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Grayfia Lucifuge, a maid that serves the House of Gremory. May I assume that you are Kazami Yuuji?"

It had to be... it must be.

Who, or what else would place itself between Rias and... everything else with such... hostility?

He blinked, once, and seething enmity withered into curt, simmering disdain.

Perhaps it was Rias who broke the stalemate, as her wildly trembling legs gave way, leaving her slumped to the floor like a puppet without strings.

"Yeah. The pleasure's mine, Grayfia."

Distant, but polite, more or less.

That darkness, that unyielding animosity...

Tucked away in an instant.

Sheathed, like a blade.

... For now.

Strangely, the idea brought with it a strange sort of contentment.

To a deep, dark part of Grayfia Lucifuge, the idea that such violence could be brought to bear against the enemies of Rias...

Was so very comforting.

Much calmer now, Grayfia turned her attention at long last to the person she'd come here to see.

One perfect brow arched in judgement.

"Was this your plan, to get out of the arrangement by throwing away your purity?"

Rias twitched upon hearing those words, taking on an unpleasant air almost immediately as she hauled herself to her feet, brushing aside her Pawn's helping hand.

"It's not 'throwing it away', if it's someone I acknowledge. What I do with my cute servants is my business, and I won't forgive anyone who suggests that's a waste, not even you, Grayfia."

"Regardless, the next heiress to the Gremory Household should not be showing her skin so recklessly. Even more so in a situation like this."

As she spoke, she scooped up Rias' bra from the floor, holding it out to her.

Reluctantly, Yuuji stepped to one side, and the way his eyes roamed between the two reminded her of a slashing blade, flaying open falsehood and baring truths left unspoken.

Tall, with silver, braided hair that shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

Wine-red eyes, pale red lips, creamy, pale skin without flaw.

Her blue and white maid outfit wasn't of an especially immodest design... but even rags would have served only to draw the eye to curves like that.

A distant, composed sort of beauty... adorned with the confidence of the truly strong.

... Probably for the best he hadn't gone the 'shoot first' route.

"Grayfia, did you come here of your own accord, or was it the household.. or, Onii-sama?"

Rias had a brother?

He'd had no idea.

"All of them."

Rias' defeated, weary sigh sent a hot flash of rage coursing through his veins.

Everything about this was _wrong_.

"Then it can only be one thing if they sent you personally. Say no more."

Rias began to dress as she spoke.

"Grayfia, let's return to my house, we can speak in my room. Akeno may also be present, correct?"

"Your 'Priestess of Thunder'? I do not mind. A Queen belongs at her King's side."

"Very well. Yuuji?"

Yuuji turned as she stepped over to him, and blinked in surprise as her lips brushed his cheek.

Closer now, she whispered to him.

"I've troubled you, haven't I? Forget I said anything Yuuji, it's okay. We'll talk tomorrow."

Yuuji said nothing, waiting silently as she summoned her power and vanished.

"Liar. As if anyone would believe a sad face like that."

Cold eyes turned away from where his master had stood, moments before, and locked onto the maid's inquisitive stare.

"Grayfia, was it? You and I need to talk."

* * *

 **Originally, this was going to go up to the meeting with Riser, but I found a good stopping point so I went with it.**

 **Kiba being immune to women due to long lengths of time living with the likes of Rias, Akeno, Grayfia and Venelana struck me as an obvious (and hilarious) explanation. And you know those four will have sky-high standards for any girls he does show interest in.**

 **Really though, that Kiba scene was good times all around. He's actually my 2nd favorite DXD character, and my favorite male character in the series.**

 **Lot's of issues came out into the open, but seeds have been planted for them to start moving forward a little bit.**

 **And Akeno got a firm reminder to be careful who she teases. That was fun to write.**

 **Comments and reviews are always appreciated, and thanks to everyone who's read so far.**


	5. Gathering of Grudges

**There are a pair of minor crossovers in the early paragraphs of this chapter, see if you can pick them out. They don't have any real significance to the story, so think of them as Easter eggs.**

* * *

"Today, class, I'd like to introduce your new homeroom teacher. As you know, Oreki-sensei's failing health has made it increasingly difficult to perform her duties, and so she'll be on sick leave for the rest of the year."

The principal was handling the manner personally, warming up the class to the idea of the sudden shift.

Everyone had liked Oreki Yuuri, but with how sickly she'd always been, it came as no real surprise.

Of course, Yuuji didn't need to be 'warmed' up to the idea, since he'd barely known his former sensei, and Raynare and Asia could barely conceal their excitement, since they knew the replacement.

That was to be expected.

After all, Rias had delivered on her promise after only a day, just like she'd said.

"So without further ado, please rise and greet your new homeroom teacher, Kalawarner-sensei."

At that, a tall, gorgeous woman with a stern expression and long blue hair swept into the room.

Kalawarner had chosen more modest attire than she typically wore, but as a Fallen Angel, her 'modest attire' could still cause traffic accidents.

Under an open white blazer, a sleeveless, maroon, turtleneck sweater struggled valiantly to keep her huge chest contained.

A short black skirt clung to wide hips, paired with long, dark brown stockings and black heels.

The stern, almost cold expression held for only a few seconds, before softening into a serene, almost welcoming smile.

Yuuji noted as her gentle, hazel eyes swept over the classroom, she took the time to look directly at each and every one of them.

Her soft smile widened a touch as her gaze fell upon his housemates and him.

The class was, bluntly speaking, captivated.

Covering his mouth slightly with the hand on his chin, Yuuji smiled to himself.

He'd seen that same tender, maternal compassion in her eyes when she watched Ray or Asia, and now she was looking at the _entire_ class that way.

"Greetings, class, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Up until now, I've only served as a teacher's assistant, so this will be my first full-time position. That being said, I do look forward to working alongside you all, and I will do everything I can to ensure you have a fulfilling highschool life. So feel free to come to me if you ever need help, my door is always open."

The classroom slowly melted as her rich, earnest voice drifted through the room.

"I have faith in the abilities of each and every one of you, and I promise to do my best to help you bring your talents forth... however."

Everyone, Yuuji included, sat up straight and paid very close attention as that stern edge returned without warning.

"I will not ask for more than you can give, but I will also expect nothing less than your _best_ efforts."

Several relieved sighs slipped out, unbidden, as the smile returned.

With just the tiniest trace of a smug edge, if one knew what to look for.

Sensei had made her point, and she, and everyone else in the room knew it.

The principal seemed delighted.

Idly, he wondered if Kiba, at the front of the class, had noticed.

That Kalawarner as 'Sensei' sounded an awful lot like Rias as 'Buchou'.

... They were even equally easy to tease.

Yuuji could remember the storm she'd blushed up when trapped in a sobbing pile made up of Asia and Raynare.

Kalawarner; cuddly and affectionate, but only when sleep was involved.

At the prompting of the principal, Kalawarner wrote her name on the board, eliciting a few murmurs from the class.

'Amano' wasn't her surname any more than it was Raynare's, but since she and 'Yuuma' were practically family, Rias had decided it would be simpler if they were actually presented as such.

Laying out the established background as an older half-cousin whom Yuuma lived with while studying, Yuuji watched the black-haired Fallen Angel in front of him shiver a bit.

Amano Kalawarner had just firmly stated that while the two of them were close, within the classroom she was a teacher before all else.

What the class didn't know is that she'd told all three of her housemates that very same thing the night before.

That handily silenced any whispers, and seemed to put the principal at ease, for he left shortly after.

Satisfied, Yuuji turned his attention to the lesson that was just beginning.

After all, he wouldn't want to set a bad impression and trouble his brand-new Sensei.

* * *

The day flew by, and, surprising no-one, the new Sensei was a big hit.

Kalawarner had no trouble proving her abilities as a teacher, easily captivating the majority of the class with even the simplest of topics, and displaying a knack for keeping everyone up to speed.

Never once did she single out a student outside of individual study, but Kalawarner seemed to pick up on sources of confusion within the room, subtly re-framing the topic until everyone was on the same page.

Even still, while he didn't think any of the normal students noticed the cause, Yuuji was grateful when the bell rang.

Yuuji tapped a hand on Raynare's shoulder, and met her worried gaze with a firm nod.

One by one, students said their goodbyes and left the classroom, subtly hurried along by the shimmering circle rotating on the ceiling, imperceptible to those without power of their own.

"Kiba, we'll catch up. Get the door on the way out, would you?"

Kiba gave a small, tense little smile, thanked his Sensei for the lesson with a polite bow, and quickly left the room.

Yuuji, Asia, and Raynare were the only ones left with Kalawarner in the room.

As Raynare strengthened her hasty barrier to mute sound, as well as continuing to discourage entry, Asia's concerned fidget became significantly less subtle.

Yuuji, however, simply met the gaze of his new teacher.

"Kala. You're among friends. You've been strong enough for now."

At his words, the blue-haired Fallen finally let her smile shatter, allowing her hidden emotions to shine through

As her face fell into her hands, Kalawarner sank slowly to her knees... soon, muffled sobs filled the air, and the younger girls rushed over to her in a panic.

Yuuji didn't know what had happened the last time Kalawarner had been a teacher, of course.

The ending just wasn't all that hard to guess.

* * *

"Take as much time as you need. There's something going on in the clubroom that won't wait, so I need to go on ahead. Don't wait up, alright?"

Yuuji was leaning against the wall, not really comfortable with joining in on the huddle of girls, kneeling on the floor.

"I-I'm sorry Yuuji-sama… I thought I would be fine but... but the children..."

"It's alright, Kala. You don't have to go through with this if you're not ready. Take some time to decide, and no, I'm not going to ask. You can tell me what's wrong if you feel comfortable, but I won't force you."

Yuuji put a hand on her shoulder as he spoke.

"...Okay, Yuuji-sama… thank you."

Kalawarner had stopped crying by now, but she was still trembling like a leaf.

Raynare and Asia still had their arms wrapped around her, but she lifted her tear-streaked face to offer a weak, shaky smile as Yuuji turned to leave.

Outside the door, Yuuji took a deep breath, setting aside the issue with his housemate for now.

He had somewhere to be.

* * *

"Get your hands off me!"

The angry voice of Rias could be heard through the door.

"Now now, is that anyway to treat your future husband?"

A deep, arrogant voice drifted into Yuuji's ears.

The hand on the handle of the clubroom door tightened, and Yuuji took one more breath before throwing open the door.

He had wanted Raynare and Kalawarner here.

They would have obeyed standing orders to hold Yuuji back if necessary, he was sure.

The Occult Research club room had never been this crowded.

But for a moment, there was only two people in the room.

One was that _bastard_ that had his arm around a very angry Rias.

Time ground to a halt as someone sharply inhaled.

Yuuji had seen the picture… the red suit… the neat blonde hair...those arrogant, smiling eyes.

They were not the same person.

But the man on the couch could have been Oslo's son, for all the resemblance they bore. He could almost _feel_ those deceptively smooth hands once again, and that voice whispering honeyed words in his ear.

 _My my, Yuuji-kun... dressed up like that, you look just like your sister._

 _Just. Like. Kazuki._

A deep breath.

Steady now.

Stick to the plan.

From his place at the door, Yuuji watched as someone crossed the room in the blink of an eye, pulling Rias off the couch with one hand.

The other hand was made into a fist, a fist used to break the blonde man's nose with enough force to upend the couch he had been sitting on.

Grayfia's quiet, exasperated exhale snapped Yuuji out of his daze.

The rest of the room were all busy staring at that someone.

"Oh, that was me."

Yuuji vaguely realized that his knuckles had become bloodied at some point.

The lookalike lying on the floor hissed and clutched at his nose.

The room, it seemed, had become almost unbearably hot, so perhaps the AC was broken.

Yuuji turned his head slowly to the dumbstruck redhead he was still holding by the wrist.

"I'm hurt, Buchou, did I do something to make you angry?"

Rias snapped out of her stupor at being addressed.

"Y-Y-Yuuji? What do you mean?"

"If you're going to have a barbecue, you should have invited me."

He spoke in the same dry tone as usual.

As Rias tilted her head in confusion, Akeno covered her mouth with one hand, eyes twinkling.

"A barbecue... Yuuji, I don't know what you're-"

Rias was cut off.

"I just assumed that was what you were doing. Why else would the entire room smell like _fried chicken_?"

Yuuji wasn't confident on that, but he was pretty sure the corners of Grayfia's mouth had twitch upwards.

Several snickers filled the room.

At that point, the man on the ground staggered to his feet, his nose snapping itself back into place with a sickly crunch.

The heat in the room rose abruptly as one of his hands ignited, crackling flame surging up his sleeves.

"You lowborn trash! Insult me, then lay your filthy hands on me you disgusting-"

Suddenly, the room went cold.

Kazami Yuuji had yet to move.

Grayfia Lucifuge, however, was standing just behind the man in red.

"Enough. Both of you, control yourselves. If you wish to incite hostilities here, I will not remain silent."

As one of the women standing behind him righted the couch, the newly named Riser flung himself back on to it with a huff, Yuuji belatedly releasing Rias from his grasp.

"Sorry, Grayfia."

"If the Strongest Queen says as much, even I can't help but be a little concerned. I'm here to pick up my bride, not burn trash."

"Like I've said time and time again, I will not marry you, Riser!"

Rias was glaring daggers at the man lounging on the couch.

"You say that, Rias, but the situation with your family is quite dire, is it not?"

Rise smirked at her, waving a hand as if to brush aside her objections.

"Even still I-"

Yuuji cut off Rias once more, cocking an eyebrow and looking at her in surprise.

"You're getting married, Buchou? Should I send flowers?"

Rias flinched, looking at Yuuji in shock.

"No, I-"

"Rias, Rias. You're heir to the Gremory family, shouldn't you be considering what's best for them?"

Riser spoke up again.

Before she could answer, Yuuji cut her off once again.

"Indeed, Rias-sama has quite the burden to bear. Even if she's promised to the great house of Phoenix, we, her humble servants can't help but be concerned for her. Perhaps, Phoenix-sama, we could request a small demonstration to help put our minds at ease?"

Rias and the rest of the peerage were staring at him in surprise at the sudden change of direction, but Yuuji ignored it.

Remaining turned towards Riser, he lowered his head respectfully, with one hand above his heart.

A wide-eyed Riser had curled his lip at the sudden shift in tone, but at those last words his sneer turned vicious.

"So your dog _is_ a little bit trained, Rias? Thank you for volunteering, by the way. Mira, show him."

At the snap of his fingers, a girl with two blue twintails and a wooden staff tensed and stepped forward, twirling her weapon.

The second she did so, a cold gaze locked on to hers.

Black eyes dancing with an eager, cruel sense of anticipation.

The promise of an inevitable, _miserable_ end.

... Mira was dimly aware of her knees hitting the floor, unable and unwilling to take even one more step.

A terrified shiver crawled down her spine as her hesitance was met with a brief flash of _disappointment_ from the 'volunteer''.

Riser watched his newest Pawn tremble and cower, as Rias' Pawn glared at her from where he stood.

"Tch. Useless Pawn. Isabela!"

A tall woman with a half mask strode past the Pawn who had now spent several moments quivering on the floor.

Before she could approach, Grayfia cut through the tension with a stern wave of her hand.

"No more. Riser-sama, this was expected. If this can not be discussed civilly, then the heads of your Households have arranged a last resort."

Rias turned to Grayfia in surprise.

"Last resort, what do you mean, Grayfia?"

"Ojou-sama, if you wish to put your opinion forward, why not settle things with a Rating Game against Riser-sama?"

Rias was speechless.

Riser merely laughed.

"That's the perfect chance to house train her pet, so I'll accept. However, an immature Devil like her can't compete in an official Rating Game. That too is fine, since I wouldn't want to tarnish my bride's record before she's even completed her peerage. I of course, accept."

An arrogant laugh followed his declaration.

"But an unofficial Game is allowed for household problems… haa... just how much are Father and the others willing to interfere in my life?"

Rias sighed as if defeated.

"Do you intend to decline then, Ojou-sama?"

Grayfia inquired in her calm tone.

For a heartbeat, Rias remained silent.

Then she aimed a challenging smirk at Riser.

"No, if this is the chance I'm given, then I'll take it! I've had enough of them trying to control my future!"

The room was flooded with her killing intent. Riser smirked back at her.

"Ten days, Rias. Ten days to prepare these meager servants of yours, so that you can't use your inexperience as an excuse when there's nothing left of your pride but ashes."

Rias flared up with furious red light leaking off her body.

Before she could do anything more, Yuuji stepped forward and bowed.

"Thank you for easing our worries, Phoenix-sama."

"Tch. If you had kept your mutt on a leash, I wouldn't have to humiliate you like this, Rias."

With a wave of his arm and a dark glare, Riser, along with the girls in the room, disappeared in a whirl of flame.

Grayfia curtsied politely towards Rias, before sending a faintly reproachful look towards the dark eyed boy in the center of the room.

Yuuji gave an apologetic shrug as she disappeared with nothing more than a whisper.

* * *

Yuuji watched the spot where Grayfia had vanished, and then turned suddenly, silencing whatever Rias had intended to say with a finger over her lips.

"Hold that thought, Buchou. There's something that requires my attention for a moment."

Before anyone could say anything, Yuuji left the room, the door handle creaking ominously as he did so.

The other Devils in the room were left staring in bewilderment at the place where he'd left.

Kiba shattered the tension with a cheerful laugh, relaxing his shoulders.

"It really is hard to blame Yuuji-kun for acting out. I kept having to talk myself out of removing the arm draped around Buchou. With a sword."

Koneko echoed the statement with an empathetic nod, and Akeno's signature smile held a dangerous edge.

Before anything more could be said, however, those left in the room jumped in surprise as violent crashing, and the splintering of wood echoed through the halls.

Several bewildered seconds later, Yuuji returned with his usual blank expression in place.

… His right hand a mess of blood and wooden splinters.

"Hmm, the walls are flimsier than they look. Buchou, do we have any bandages handy? It seems I scraped myself when I tripped."

As he made his request, Yuuji examined his wounds with a critical eye.

"Yuuji! Are you okay? What was that about!?"

Rias made to move towards him, eyes locked on his mangled hand, dripping on the floor.

"Rias."

His tone brought her up short.

"A Rating Game was always your last option. Riser had no reason to accept, so I provoked him a little."

Rias calmed down almost immediately. Smiling fondly at her precious servant.

"You scared me."

"Sorry, Buchou."

"No, it's fine, but… how did you know?"

"If I can tell how unwilling you are, then it's safe to assume your parents can. I've read up a bit on unofficial Rating Games, so I took a gamble hoping something like this was in place."

"I… I understand. Sorry for doubting you, Yuuji."

Rias smiled at him, before her expression turned serious.

"It's not going to be easy, though. There are 5 of us and 16 of them, and Riser has almost never lost a Rating Game. Do you understand what fighting a Phoenix means, Yuuji?"

A ghastly chill up her spine as Yuuji's smirk widened into something cruel and hungry.

In the darkness of last night, the malice her Pawn kept hidden had seemed surreal, dream-like.

This time, she was very much awake.

"Yes Buchou, I do. It means that no matter what I do, I can't kill Riser Phoenix."

Yuuji chuckled, and the temperature in the room plummeted.

 ** _"Guess I'll just break him instead_."**

* * *

Ten days.

After asking Rias if she had a suitable location for them to train, Yuuji had asked her if he could take a leading role in planning their time.

She'd hesitated, but Yuuji cut through all that with a simple entreaty.

"Your orders please, Buchou."

As if drawing strength from his request, Rias had straightened to her full height with a dramatic sweep of her arm.

"In the name of Rias Gremory, give us the tools we need to claim victory, my beloved servant!"

He would keep it to himself, but Kazami Yuuji rather enjoyed receiving orders he _wanted_ to follow.

Not that it mattered in the end.

There was too much at stake for his feelings to matter in the slightest.

Yuuji was not so arrogant as to think he knew all there was to know about Rias Gremory.

So he'd just protect the Rias he knew, in the hopes of also protecting the Rias he didn't.

That, and Riser really did have an uncanny resemblance to _him_.

Yuuji liked to think he wasn't the vindictive sort, but he still intended to hit Riser until the similarities disappeared.

No hard feelings.

* * *

 ** _SMACK_**

She had deserved that.

Wincing, Rias put a hand to her cheek.

"Akeno, I'm sorry… I was just.. ."

She had just confessed to Akeno what had happened, what had almost happened, with Yuuji the night before.

Her Queen and best friend had reacted predictably.

"I know, Rias, you were just desperate… but I still have every right to be angry."

"You do. I'm so sorry I shouldn't have tried to sleep with Yuuji but I panicked and-"

"Rias, I'm not mad that you tried to sleep with Yuuji."

Wait, what?

Rias must have misheard.

Seeing her confusion, Akeno's frown gave way to a teasing smile.

"I'm just angry you tried to sleep with Yuuji _first_ ~."

Akeno was a Devil.

The idea of sharing Yuuji was one she had considered, and while part of her was aghast at the idea of sharing Yuuji, another part of her had a wild imagination and saw all sorts of _potential_ with extra bodies available.

Mostly though, Akeno was still wrestling with the bit of guilty excitement she felt at the idea of Rias specifically joining in.

While she hadn't had a lot of opportunities to experiment, Rias would be likely be shocked to know just how many of Akeno's fantasies included _her_.

* * *

The house was quiet when Yuuji returned.

Raynare and Asia were in the kitchen area where they were busy preparing dinner, while Kalawarner sat at the table grading the coursework from the day.

She gave a start when she noticed Yuuji, before awkwardly staring back at her papers.

Raynare and Asia looked his way as well, feeling the awkward air in the room.

"Are you going to be okay, Kalawarner?"

She cringed upon hearing her name, and looked up him hesitantly.

Kalawarner closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

"I… believe so, Yuuji-sama. I was caught a little off guard, but I think I know what to expect now. Forgive me for acting like that, it won't happen again."

Yuuji shook his head.

"It's fine, we won't mention it again if you're okay. So, have you decided?"

"Yes, Yuuji-sama. I… it was hard at first, but I was happy. I... wish to continue."

Kalawarner met his eyes firmly.

"Having Kala-san as a teacher makes me so happy! It's so great that all of us can be together even at school!"

Asia chirped brightly from the kitchen, her usual sunny smile in place once more.

"Yeah, together is definitely best."

Raynare gave an over the shoulder smile, hands preoccupied with the stove top.

Kalawarner smiled fondly at the two girls, before looking up at the silent Yuuji.

He was watching the back and forth with an oddly wistful expression.

Eventually, he seemed to realize that the focus had shifted his direction.

He remained silent a little longer before making his thoughts known in a soft voice.

"Together, huh? I'll look forward to it."

It was faint, but for a moment he returned the smiles directed his way.

The house had seemed warmer as of late.

Yeah... he could get used to this.

* * *

Kalawarner was a little surprised that Yuuji hadn't asked about her reasons for breaking down in the classroom.

After a moment though, she realized that this was likely to be the norm for him.

It wasn't hard to believe that someone so secretive would respect the secrets of others.

He had made it clear, after all, that he would listen when she was ready.

Truth be told, she wasn't, and wasn't confident that would _ever_ change.

By now though, Kazami Yuuji had made it clear he that he would accept her moving at her own pace.

It seemed that for the longest time, it had just been her and Raynare in a cold world that would never spare them more than a passing glance.

Now, her world was slowly growing brighter, and warmer, and of all things, she had a Devil and a Human to thank.

Yes, she could get used to this.

Raynare's desires were simple enough, and having a full, happy home satisfied most of them.

It had been a long time since she could feel safe, and a long time since she could smile freely.

She had Kalawarner by her side, and now she had Asia and Yuuji as well.

Yes, she could get used to this.

Asia had never had a family before.

A 'Holy Maiden' was expected to be content with God's love, and spare no thought for the love of those beside her.

She had been cast out and betrayed once before, but now she had people who were willing to fight for her, and already had.

Yes, she could get used to this.

So when Yuuji sat them down after dinner and casually explained that, in order to protect Rias, he had goaded an immortal bird into a death match, Asia knew.

Knew that she was powerless to help.

Knew that if things went wrong, she would lose her family and _nothing_ she could do would change that.

Not as she was.

Yuuji had accepted that they would be joining the training, since Raynare and Asia were members of the Occult Research Club and Kalawarner had been made it's advisor, but had made it clear they would be involved no further.

It seemed Yuuji considered this a personal problem.

That had made Asia angry, and she could tell that the other two girls were angry as well.

Angry, but moreso saddened that Yuuji didn't seem to even consider that his problems might matter to _them_ as well.

That's what family was…. wasn't it?

Nevertheless, Raynare and Kalawarner were technically Stray Fallen Angels, so their assistance in this 'Rating Game' would never be allowed, even if they weren't simply killed for showing themselves publicly.

She had different circumstances, however.

Unknown to her family, Asia Argento made her choice.

For the first time, she had something to protect of her own.

* * *

Rias was sitting at her desk in the clubroom, having just finished her after school preparations for her household's 10 day leave.

The Gremory's owned a 'cabin' (small mansion) up in the mountains, so they'd be training there for the 10 days they had until the Rating Game with Riser.

This was the first day of that period, but since they couldn't leave right away without causing a stir, they'd be heading out after the lunch break.

So she was surprised when knock on the door caught her attention.

"M-may I come in, Buchou?"

"Asia-chan? Is that you? Please, come in."

"E-excuse me then."

The sole human member of the ORC opened the door, furtively closing it behind her as if scared of being overheard.

Rias gently took the initiative, hoping to put her at ease.

"What can I help you with, Asia-chan?"

Asia took a deep breath and shut her eyes as if working up her courage.

When her eyes snapped open, she loudly cried out.

"I-I accept your offer Rias-san! P-please, make me a Devil!"

... A dumbstruck redhead stared at the blonde now bowing her head towards her.

.

.

.

An awkward silence filled the room, as Asia's nervousness returned.

When she finally looked up, Rias had a serious expression.

"Why so suddenly, Asia?"

Privately, she was thrilled that Asia was accepting.

Rias was feeling desperate, after all, but she wanted, _needed_ to make sure it was for the right reasons.

She sat patiently, waiting for the former Sister to speak.

"I've… never had a home before. I've never been to a proper school, I've never been in a club, I've never had friends, and I've never had people who cared about Asia Argento."

... Rias could relate to that far more than she was willing to let on.

"But now Yuuji is going off to fight, you all are, aren't you? Rias, I've never been saved by anyone, and now those people who saved me are in danger."

She was right, of course.

If Rias married Riser, her days of living in the Human world were probably over.

It went without saying that that would include her servants, and without Yuuji around… those left behind would be alone against the world.

"And… I can't do anything to save them. Rias, I finally have a chance at a family, and I can't do anything to protect them! So please! Let me help, let me get stronger, let me fight for those I care about! I can't… I can't lose them."

Asia was trembling now, and as tears streamed down her reddened cheeks, her voice withered into a choked whisper.

Rias swiftly rose from her desk, coming around it to embrace the smaller girl.

"Okay… I understand. I'm scared of losing my family as well. But this is a big decision… are you really sure? Devils can't even pray without suffering, you know?"

"I know but… I wouldn't be the same Asia who prays to God every day if I didn't do everything I could for those I love. So please, Rias."

Rias let out a long sigh in response.

"When you put it like that, it's hard for me to say no. Alright, Asia Argento. Prepare yourself. From this moment on, you'll be reborn as my new Bishop, and faithfully serve I, Rias Gremory, as my servant forevermore. Do you accept?"

"Y-yes! I, Asia Argento, promise to serve Rias Gremory faithfully until the end of my days!"

The woman who made her declaration shone with a hidden radiance, and Rias found herself before a Holy Maiden once more.

A moment's pause before Rias went to her desk, solemnly drawing forth a single white chess piece.

* * *

The bell rang for third period, and Yuuji had just returned to school.

They had all been given permission to go home during lunch to gather their things, and Raynare and Kalawarner had accompanied him.

Surprisingly, Asia hadn't, but she'd insisted she had something to take care of, and would meet them at the clubroom when it was time to leave.

She had asked Raynare to bring along her bag, which she'd packed the night before.

Whatever it was, she seemed a bit nervous, but Yuuji was confident that if she was in some kind of trouble, either he or the two Fallen Angels would find out quickly enough.

So he'd leave it be for now.

The three of them entered the old school building, and found that they were the last to arrive.

He didn't fail to notice, however, that everyone seemed rather nervous when he'd shown up.

Rias, Asia, Kalawarner and Raynare more so.

Come to think of it, the two Fallen had been a little nervous during lunch, but he'd dismissed it as worries over the upcoming Rating Game.

Awkwardness reigned for a little while longer, as Yuuji's patience steadily dwindled.

"Spit it out."

His irritated tone made several people flinch.

"Yuuji… I… w-well, you see…"

Rias was fidgeting with her hands. Asia took a deep breath.

"No, Buchou, I should be the one to say it. Yuuji… I."

Words failing, Asia let out her new set of wings.

His eyes widened for a brief moment, before his face became impassive once more.

No one was fooled.

"I see."

Panicking, Rias and Asia both tried to speak up at once.

He cut them off with an outstretched hand.

"Was it your choice, Asia?"

"Y-yes."

"Alright then."

"You're… not angry?"

"No Asia, I'm not angry at _you_."

Seemingly inferring his meaning, Rias tensed.

"Yuuji, I can explain."

"Save it."

She recoiled at his tone, her own voice adopting a desperate edge.

"Yuuji, please…"

"You can't be mad at Buchou, Yuuji! She didn't ask, I wanted this!"

"Why, Asia?"

"Because I was afraid you'd be against it Yuuji-san. You and Ray-san and Kala-san protected me, so I want to be able to protect you as well!"

Asia stood firm as she said so, meeting his eyes defiantly.

Yuuji shook his head with a short, bitter sigh.

"You didn't have to ask, Asia… I just wanted you to make the choice for yourself."

"Then… you aren't...?"

"No, Asia, I'm not mad. And I'm not mad at you either, Buchou."

Rias, who had been looking guiltily at the floor, perked up at that immediately.

"T-that's great! I'm so sorry I didn't say anything but-"

"Doubled."

Rias tilted her head in surprise.

She wasn't the only one.

"Doubled? What do you mean, doubled?"

"I've been looking down on people unintentionally, it seems. I apologize, and have every intention of making it up to you. And so, I'm going to make things right, starting today."

A chill air swept through the room at Yuuji's vicious smirk.

"And since I want to make sure that I'm treating everyone fairly, that means no more holding back. So to be safe, I'll be doubling _everyone's_ training plan for the week."

Perhaps Yuuji was the vindictive sort after all.

* * *

They were currently hiking up a long mountain path.

Yuuji led the way beside Rias and Akeno, while the rest trailed further back.

At the end of the group, Kalawarner and Koneko strolled side by side, occasionally making the odd comment to each other.

While all of them had backpacks of various sizes, Koneko was the only one with a backpack significantly larger than she was.

Yuuji was impressed by the little Rook.

Simple strength and stamina could carry one far.

Truthfully, they didn't have all that much luggage.

So, despite it being unnecessary for their stay, Yuuji had 'rounded out' the bags with several liters of water, tailored to each person.

Simple strength and stamina.

Nothing at all to do with his promise from back in the clubroom.

As he looked back over the rest of the group, Yuuji caught Rias' concerned face from the corner of his eye.

Seems it was still bothering her.

Without looking at her, he spoke up.

"By the way, I meant to thank you, Buchou."

Surprise flitted across her face.

"Thank me? For what?"

"After you offered to let Asia join your peerage, you didn't push the issue, even once. She hides it well, but I think she's been a little overwhelmed. So thank you for being gentle with her."

Rias smiled as he spoke.

"It was no problem, Yuuji. I was a bit surprised for her to come to me like that, but I can't help but admire her determination. Frankly though, I'm baffled that the Church was able to turn their back on a sweet girl like that."

"Me too Buchou, me too."

"Their loss, isn't it? The clubroom gets a little brighter every time she walks through the door."

Akeno spoke up with her usual, gentle smile in place.

The manor house (Yuuji felt Rias had a poor idea of what constituted a 'cabin') was just starting to come in to view then, so Yuuji picked up his pace, shaking his head at the two girls when they quickened theirs to match.

"First day's mostly mine, so I'm going on ahead, Buchou. Get everyone together, please"

"Okay, Yuuji."

"Ufufu, starting the fun early?"

Yuuji jogged on ahead as the two girls went back to the others.

They hadn't been that spread out, but by the time they crested the final hill onto the plateau where the manor sat, Yuuji was nowhere to be seen.

His backpack was sitting on the porch.

Noticing something, Kiba jogged past the others, reaching the stairs first.

Resting up against Yuuji's pack was a small note with a handful of words written on it.

'Heads up.'

Not wasting any time, Kiba yelled a warning and twisted, a huge, conjured blade, wider that his shoulders, slamming into the ground.

Too big to effectively wield, but it wasn't meant to be.

Something splattered against his impromptu shield.

Kiba chuckled, recognizing the sound as the paint 'simmunition' rounds Yuuji used during training.

The girls immediately grouped together, Rias, Akeno, Raynare and Kalawarner forming shield spells in a circular formation, the two smaller girls between them.

A few more paint rounds impacted, everyone searching for the source.

From afar, Yuuji's voice rang out from somewhere in the trees.

Vainly, they tried to pinpoint his location.

"I'll be kind and let you drop your bags off in your rooms. Kiba, take mine please. You all have fifteen minutes before I start shooting again, so I recommend getting changed before you come find me. Training starts now."

Raynare raised an eyebrow at Rias.

"Was he always that fast?"

"Not quite, but this area has been used for training purposes before, and so the boundary is set up to treat the surrounding area as enemy territory. Promoted to the Knight like he is, Yuuji is almost as fast as Yuuto."

"Ara ara, our junior is as merciless as ever~."

Akeno seemed to be enjoying herself.

"I am looking forward to training under Yuuji-sama."

Kalawarner spoke up then, her tone neutral.

"Brace yourself, Kalawarner-san. Yuuji-senpai is scariest when he's in charge."

Koneko was watching the treeline with slitted eyes as she spoke.

"I-I'm, I'm a little nervous, but I'll do my best!"

"That's all we ask, Asia-chan. Now you all heard my servant, let's get moving!"

* * *

Rias and Kiba crouched in a low ditch, senses straining for any sign of movement.

They _had_ been in one big group, but when a careless step tripped a thin line near the ground, they'd been forced to scatter as the dense forest filled with smoke.

None of the casters had the time to make any progress towards scattering the smoke, as the activation of their spells created light, a weakness Yuuji wouldn't hesitate to take advantage off.

For all they knew, they were the only ones left standing.

They weren't even sure who had made it out of the smoke.

They weren't sure how long it had been since then, as the forest had remained eerily silent.

Suddenly, the two of them nearly jumped out of their skin as a shrill scream split the air.

"Asia-chan? If that's her, we should go to her. She could be hurt."

"Careful, Yuuto. While I agree we can't abandon her, that's probably just what _he's_ hoping for."

"Good call, Buchou. That's definitely something I would do."

Rias and Kiba both froze at the _third_ voice which had chimed in.

Crouched on the other side of Rias, Yuuji returned their horrified stares with a slight smirk and a carefree wave of his hand.

"Yo."

* * *

After almost an hour, the group emerged from the woods, exhausted and dirty.

In theory, they were supposed to find and capture Yuuji, but after being separated he'd hunted them down one by one.

Asia had been very apologetic, as the rope snare she'd been caught in had served to lure in several of them, even if Yuuji had quickly released her, seating her comfortably in the clearing and asking her to remain quiet.

"Not a bad start, just remember to take the environment into account when you fight. Everyone seems to work pretty well independently for the most part."

As Yuuji spoke, Akeno rubbed her head sheepishly at the word 'environment'.

She had reacted to a sudden noise with a bolt of lightning, and Yuuji, from hiding, had patiently waited for her to put out the small fire before shooting her in the back.

"Don't want to overload everyone on the first day, so Buchou, I think I'm done on my end for now."

"Alright then, Yuuji. Everyone, get your rooms in order and get cleaned up. and we'll meet in the dining room. I will be in charge of dinner tonight."

"Yes, Buchou!"

The group responded before splitting off.

Nine days until the Rating Game.

* * *

The first full day of the training camp started bright and early, with Yuuji leading the group on a run down a game trail he'd scouted out, while hunting them through the forest, the evening before.

It stung their pride just a little to know that he'd been multitasking so casually.

After breakfast, they divided into two groups, Rias overseeing sparring practice while Akeno led lessons on magic.

For the majority of the first day, those two would be running the show, as Yuuji had no experience in magic whatsoever.

"Focus, you two. Imagine the demonic energy in your body to be something akin to a current, and direct the flow towards a specific point."

Akeno leaned up against the table in the small meeting room, wearing a black jersey.

"A current, huh? Easy enough."

Perhaps because it was Akeno speaking, Yuuji imagined lines of electricity tracing through his body, sending 'signals' much like a second set of nerves.

Concentrating, Yuuji imagined the current redirecting towards his outstretched right hand.

"I did it!"

Yuuji opened one eye towards Asia beside him in a white jersey, as she was looking in bright-eyed wonder at the orb of green light floating above her hands.

Fittingly, the magic gave off a vague feeling of comfort.

"Ara ara, Asia's a natural at this after all."

Asia blushed at Akeno's compliment.

"My, looks like Yuuji-kun has it figured out as well."

Yuuji opened his other eye, to find a small, dull gray orb floating in the air.

Unlike the warm glow of Asia's magic, his seemed cold, and didn't give off any light to speak of.

It was also golf-ball sized, whereas Asia's was somewhere between that of a softball and a volleyball.

"Now, the next step is manifesting your power as one of the natural elements, such as fire or water. For a beginner, though, it's usually easier to manipulate an already existing element, like so."

As she spoke, Akeno held out her had above a water bottle on the table, and with a soft shredding sound, the water formed into spikes of ice, destroying the bottle from the inside.

"Now you two try."

Akeno placed too more water bottles on the table.

Asia stuck out her tongue in concentration and directed her orb over towards the bottle.

"Please break."

Heeding her polite request, the bottle did just that, slowly splitting apart and falling outwards, as the water slowly expanded outwards into the shape of a ball, too big for the bottle to contain.

Almost gently, the ball of water lost its shape, spreading onto the table below.

"Fufufu leave it to Asia-chan to break something gently. Well done."

Akeno giggled and smiled, while Asia looked both proud and bashful.

Yuuji stared at the water bottle for a moment, his magic still hovering.

After a moment, his eyes narrowed.

A short delay followed, the water bottle giving a sort of shudder as the water within it swirled about.

The swirling intensified as Yuuji's frown deepened.

Suddenly, the bottle ruptured, spraying water everywhere as Asia let out a little shriek.

"My, what a mess you've made, Yuuji-kun. But good job."

Asia, it seemed, wasn't far behind Rias or Akeno when it came to magical power.

Yuuji had significantly less, but after his first attempt, had no issues accomplishing simple effects.

It seemed that his power was very straight forward and precise.

Asia never failed an exercise, but she often seemed surprised at how she'd accomplished it.

Akeno seemed to enjoy that.

* * *

Kiba and Kalawarner were trading blows with bokken, in a wide open field.

Kiba was a step above in terms of skill, but the slightly taller woman had good instincts, seeming to be able to predict his strikes quite well, even if he was restraining his speed a fair bit.

While the jersey (maroon, as usual) she was wearing didn't make it immediately obvious, Kiba was starting to notice that she actually had a fair amount of muscle mass.

Every time they clashed head-on Kiba felt like he'd hit a wall, so likely Koneko was the only one who could match her in power.

A hang-up of hers was becoming more and more apparent, however.

How to broach the subject without being impolite?

After parrying a strike, Kiba hopped back to create some distance.

"You have good defenses, Kalawarner-san. You'd make quite the Rook."

Kalawarner paused, relaxing her stance.

"Thank you, Kiba-san. I'm still surprised how fast you are, even for a Knight. I'm having difficulty keeping up."

Kiba accepted the compliment with a slight nod.

"If you don't mind me asking, Kalawarner-san, why are you hesitating so much? You're not attacking nearly as much as you could be."

Kalawarner looked down and away, as if caught.

"I…"

Kiba sighed as she hesitated. Best be careful now.

He tucked his bokken under his arm and closed the distance.

"I know you don't have a lot of reason to trust me just yet, but if we're to be allies I want to change that. And while I don't want to push... I think it's okay to speak up if something is bothering you."

His voice was gentle as the Fallen Angel looked at him with one eye.

Seeming to relax a bit, Kalawarner spoke in a low voice.

"I'm... strong, Kiba-san. I'm tall, and quite… s-sturdy for a woman, so it is easy for me to hurt people. I am used to being careful, but sparring like this still makes me a bit nervous. I know I'm not acting as your teacher right now, but I can't help but think of you as my student, so it is difficult for me."

"It's nice to have such a gentle Sensei."

Kiba smiled at her, as she lifted her head up with a jolt.

"But, I'm used to sparring with Koneko-chan, so you don't need to hold back quite that much. I promise not to hold a grudge, so it's okay to let loose a little bit, Kalawarner-san."

The woman in question was silently watching him for moment, as if weighing his words.

Then she smiled gratefully at him, before setting herself with a determined stare.

"Then here I come, Kiba-san."

Kiba hopped back, raising his sword in front of him while smiling eagerly.

Kalawarner lowered her sword behind her as she closed in, before sweeping upwards in a massive strike.

Kiba sidestepped easily enough, though he blinked in surprise at the heavy rush of air, leaving him a little slow to respond to the next attack.

Kalawarner shifted her weight and swept in from the side.

At the last second, he braced behind his sword and leapt up into the air, so when her strike hit, he was launched away, turning in the air to land on his feet.

Raising his sword once more, he-

Stopped and snickered, just noticing the crack on his bokken.

Brought up short by his chuckles, Kalawarner reddened.

"I'm sorry, Kalawarner-san. Looks like I've been a little too rough with this one."

Kiba jogged over to the duffel he'd brought with them to fetch a new sword.

A sudden thought struck him.

"Kala-san, Fallen Angels can make weapons other than spears with their light, can't they?"

... Why was she so red?

He didn't think he'd said anything that strange.

"Y-yes…"

"Can you? I think a longer weapon would suit you, but I'm not sure a spear would be the right choice. Maybe something like a…"

Not quite looking at him, Kalawarner mumbled something.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

Kalawarner mumbled again. Kiba jogged over towards her.

"Kalawarner-san?"

Still mumbling, Kalawarner raised her volume a little, poking her fingers together bashfully.

"I can… but it's embarrassing. It's… not very ladylike."

Smiling patiently, Kiba shifted himself slightly, positioning himself to block view from the other side of the field, where Rias was having Raynare spar against her, while Koneko leaned up against a tree, taking a break.

After a sheepish pause, Kalawarner held out her hand in front of her, and a soft yellow light appeared.

It stretched out in a line towards the ground, before taking shape and beginning to solidify.

With her hand resting on the top of the blade and the pommel resting on the ground, in Kalawarner's hand was an axe made of yellow light, almost long enough to reach her ribs.

Flaring upwards near the top, the axe-blade was wide, with the bottom having a more pronounced hook shape to it.

Kiba took a half step back, looking thoughtfully at it.

"Aha! I've got it. Kalawarner-san, mind taking your wings out for a moment?"

Kalawarner tilted her head at his request, but complied, blinking in surprise as Kiba snapped his fingers.

"So it _is_ the same shape, that is pretty."

Kalawarner turned red and began to stutter, squirming and fidgeting as the Gremory Knight spoke in that casually charming manner that made him the dream boy of almost every girl in his school.

"Y-you… think it's p-pretty?"

"Yeah, I didn't know an axe could be so graceful. Sensei has a cool weapon."

She blinked once more at his words and smiled, hesitant at first, but quickly becoming more genuine.

When Kiba grinned return, however, the implied challenge was impossible to miss.

"Now, let's see you use it."

* * *

 ** _CRASH_**

Splinters flew everywhere as the tree shattered from the impact of a tiny fist.

"Oi, Koneko. Aren't you supposed to be holding back?"

"I am holding back, Yuuji-senpai. Don't die."

Her next attack, a roundhouse kick tore through the air as Yuuji leaned back.

Catching her wrists, Yuuji flung his upper body back, resulting in Koneko being flipped over him to land in a bush.

"That one was pretty good, Koneko, you're definitely getting faster."

Yuuji twisted and grabbed her by the neck of her yellow jersey, easily hoisting her out of the bush.

The Rook piece might have made her incredibly tough, but it actually didn't make Koneko any heavier.

"Let's go check on the others, we got pretty far into the bush."

"That's because you kept running away, Senpai."

"That's because I like life, Koneko. I'm not very good with the Rook piece yet."

They walked through the woods, returning to the main clearing in time for Yuuji to meet the dazed eyes of Rias, her head and shoulders on the ground, while her legs were up in the air.

A slender set of black sleeved arms, wrapped around her waist, provided an explanation for her odd position.

"A German Suplex? Nice move, Akeno."

Giggling as she released the redhead, Rias fell one direction with a groan while Akeno rolled the other way, coming to her feet.

Dusting herself off as she went over to help Rias off the ground, Akeno giggled again.

"My win, Rias, looks like the score is back to even."

The two were talented, Yuuji would give them that.

While they hadn't done much hand to hand training, the two of them were picking it up rather quickly, in part due to their constant competition with each other.

Rias was the better striker and had slightly more reach, being a couple inches taller, but Akeno had a knack for throws and locks, and was actually the most flexible of the entire group, seemingly in defiance of also having the largest bust size.

Yuuji didn't know it, but said defiance really was the reason behind it.

Nearby, Kiba let out a slight puff of air as his back hit the ground, smiling up at the smaller blonde who had just flipped him.

Asia wasn't at the point where she could actually spar, so she was mostly practicing some basic self-defense at this point.

She was making decent progress, in the sense that she didn't apologize _every_ time she pulled off a successful throw or strike.

"You're getting better, Asia-chan. Drop your knees down a little more when you step in next time, the more of my weight you can use against me the easier it will be."

"Y-yes! Thank you, Kiba-san!"

Having dusted off her red jersey, Rias got everyone's attention, the two Fallen Angels having just finished a sparring match of their own.

"Alright, everyone. The sun's starting to set, so let's stop here for now. Good work, everyone. Riser will be no trouble at all if we keep at it like this."

* * *

Everyone had worked up quite an appetite, so dinner was a lively, extravagant affair.

Rias and Yuuji had both taken breaks throughout the day to hunt, and so fresh fish from Rias and a small deer that Yuuji had shot graced the table.

Kiba, it seemed, had an interest in botany, and had gathered wild herbs to use as spices.

When questioned on the subject, it was revealed that he was one of the primary student caretakers of the Kuoh Academy greenhouse.

"Hmm, Akeno is definitely marriage material."

Akeno had done the majority of the cooking.

"Ufufu~."

From behind a raised, slender hand, rich, pleased laughter drifted from between Akeno's lips.

"This soup reminds me of home though, did one of you three make it?"

Yuuji turned his head to the left, where his housemates were sitting together.

Asia meekly nodded.

"It's good, Asia."

"I-it is!? I'll make it at home, so I can be Yuuji-san's...too."

Asia was squirming as she looked down at the table.

"Hmm? Say again, Asia?"

"N-nothing!"

Asia waved her hands, stammering.

Yuuji raised an eyebrow and returned to his food.

From the head of the table, Rias spoke up after taking a sip from her green tea.

"So, everyone, how was progress for the day? Akeno, give me your thoughts on your lesson first, please."

"Asia-chan is quite good with her demonic power, and she has a lot of it. She's one of the rare types who can bypass the process and go straight for the result."

Raynare seemed a bit confused, but Akeno seemed to pick up on that and smoothly began to elaborate.

"Usually when you cast a spell, visualizing how you'll complete a task is an important part of focusing your power. In Asia's case it's largely intuitive, so for most simpler effects, deciding she wants to do something is enough to achieve success. Put another way, she doesn't need to decide how to cross the river, she only needs to decide to cross the river. A lot of mages would be jealous of her."

Raynare nodded her understanding.

"Raynare's magic is like that as well. The phrase 'I just did it' seems to come up a lot with her."

Kalawarner chimed in from the other side of Raynare, who stuck her tongue out playfully.

"I'm not surprised. Yuuji, on the other hand, is boring."

Akeno winked as she said that to take the sting out of the remark.

"He doesn't have a lot of magical ability, but he's an efficient problem solver so he has no issues at all with control. Magic works in a very linear fashion with him."

Yuuji nodded with crossed arms.

"Magic is a tool, I like to know how my tools work."

Akeno grinned as he spoke.

"See? No sense of wonder at all."

Rias chuckled softly at her Queen's words before shifting to her Pawn.

"What do you think, Yuuji?"

"10 days isn't an awfully long amount of time, but we're making decent progress because of how talented you all are. Ray and Kala fit in just fine on that front. We'll keep up the morning runs, but most of you don't need a whole lot of conditioning work. From here on I think I'm going to push us to focus more on fighting at a disadvantage, since …. Whatsisname's peerage is so much bigger than ours."

"Whatsisname? You mean Riser?"

"That's what I said."

There was silence for a moment.

"Yuuji-senpai forgot his name, didn't he?"

Came Koneko's dry remark, the first words she'd spoken during dinner.

"We're a team, so it's fine as long as one of you remembers."

The dismissive tone, coming from Yuuji was oddly comforting.

Maybe because he always so serious.

Then again, maybe his voice was just like that.

"Well, I think we've made a good start. Let's enjoy the bath after the meal. Open air baths truly are wonderful."

"Ara, I hope Yuuji-kun will join us. Washing my new boyfriend's back could be fun~."

"I don't mind if it's Yuuji-kun."

Rias smiled indulgently towards the black-haired boy.

"We're okay with it too, right Asia-chan, Kala-chan?"

Raynare nudged the two girls beside her cheerfully, and while Asia blushed and ducked her head, she nodded after a short pause.

"Yuuji-sama is our master, so if that is his wish I have no reason nor desire to refuse."

Kalawarner's formal tone was marred a bit by her colored cheeks, and sudden interest with the opposite wall.

Yuuji looked at the only girl who hadn't spoken up. The white-haired Rook raised an eyebrow.

"No thanks, Senpai."

"Thanks for the rescue, Koneko."

Yuuji gave her a thumbs up gesture, which she returned.

"Aww, doesn't Yuuji-kun want to see us naked? I'm hurt."

Akeno tone was light and teasing, but her smile was struggling to remain in its place.

"You don't understand at all, Akeno. Baths are supposed to be relaxing, and too many beautiful women makes that impossible. I am a man, after all."

"Words like that are dangerous, Yuuji-kun."

Akeno's disappointment had vanished though, so he'd take it as a win.

It soon turned out that Yuuji had been on the mark with his earlier comment.

While Kiba was quiet enough company, the thin wooden wall dividing the genders did little to muffle the noise all the girls were making on their side of the bath.

He had no intention of admitting it though, that despite the noise, Yuuji found the baths to be relaxing nonetheless.

A little bit of racket wasn't so bad... when friends were involved.

* * *

Later that night, out in the forest, away from where training had taken place.

A figure stood in the small clearing, casting a long shadow in the moonlight.

Resting in the patch of gloom, something once warm and full of life lay prone, slowly cooling in the night air.

Grasped in a dark, heavy glove, a smoky vial filled with some dull liquid was raised above the small form lying before it.

As the vial tipped, the liquid drained down, immediately begin to hiss and bubble, devouring flesh and fur.

The standing figure nodded as if content, and let the vial fall.

Soon, the clearing was empty once more.

* * *

A light from the living room caught Yuuji's attention as he headed towards the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Ara, you're still awake, Yuuji?"

Rias was sitting in the living room, a tea light casting a soft glow over the room.

She was wearing a red negligee and a familiar set of glasses, her crimson hair in a loose ponytail.

Yuuji supposed that the light was more personal preference, since as creatures of the night, Devils didn't need illumination of any kind, no matter how deep the darkness.

"Just about done for the night, Buchou. Was just getting some fresh air."

"Well your timing is good, come, sit with me for a bit. It's not often you and I can chat together by ourselves."

"Excuse me then."

When he made his way for the couch opposite her, Rias shook her head with a smile, patting the empty cushion beside her.

Yuuji took the seat, maintaining just a little distance between the two of them.

Meaningless, because Rias shifted in an attempt to get more comfortable, a motion that left her hip in just the barest contact with his own.

"I've seen those glasses before. Do they help you focus?"

"Something like that, fufufu. They're perhaps proof of how long I've stayed in the human world."

Yuuji shifted his focus to the table before them, covered in papers detailing maps and formations.

Battle plans?

Yuuji scanned them over with some interest, as Rias watched quietly.

"We're lucky to have you, you know. It's reassuring to have a master who puts so much thought into our battles."

Rias smiled when he spoke up, but it had a bitter edge to it.

"Not too long ago it was made abundantly clear that underestimating my opponents puts my precious household at risk. These, though? Not much more than a distraction to ease my mind."

"What do you mean, Buchou?"

"I know of two ways to defeat a Phoenix, and honestly I'm not sure we're capable of either, Yuuji. We can't win without defeating the King, but what can we do against an immortal?"

"If I were even half as strong as my brother, I could overwhelm his regeneration in a single strike. But that's beyond the me of right now, and like you've said Yuuji, I have the most firepower out of all of us. We could also take him down again and again until the pain wears out his mind, but he's an experienced warrior with an untold number of lives, while the six of us just have one each. And that's not even taking into account how outnumbered we are."

Yuuji remained silent, watching her closely as an explanation slowly tumbled forth.

"It was… difficult to hear that Riser would be my fiance. I don't doubt that Outo-sama and the others chose him expecting things to happen this way. Even if I wanted to challenge my fate, what choice do I have against an opponent I have no hope of defeating? It's as if this was all meant to be a lesson, a reminder of a destiny I can't escape."

Rias drew out a long, shuddering breath.

"This is why I love the human world so much. Here, I can just be Rias. Here, I can pretend that the name Gremory won't follow me wherever I go. I'm proud to be a Devil of the House of Gremory, but sometimes, that name feels like a chain around my neck. The Underworld will never see the girl behind the name, and after the marriage, no one will ever see her again… I don't want to disappear, Yuuji. I just want the chance to live a life of my own."

She trailed off then, hugging herself as if to ward off an unseen chill. Eyes distant, full of a quiet sorrow.

"Sorry, but I don't really understand the name 'Gremory'."

Yuuji's gaze drifted away from that lonely, forlorn smile.

"'Buchou' is nice and all, but I think 'Rias' is more than enough for me. I kind of want her to stick around, so I guess I'll just fight anyone who disagrees."

It took a few seconds of silence for him to realize that Rias was staring at him in open-mouthed astonishment.

Suddenly uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't quite explain, Yuuji averted his gaze once more.

Even then, he wasn't quite done.

"I mean, that's what you asked me to do… isn't it? No one has ever asked to be saved by someone like me."

Still no response.

Slowly, he turned his head back to find her holding both hands over her reddened cheeks, radiant blue eyes staring in wide-eyed fascination at nothing in particular.

"... Did... did I say something wrong?"

"N-no! It's nothing!"

He'd really tried his best there, but why was she panicking?

This was difficult.

"Thank you, Yuuji."

He blinked several times as she gently cupped his cheek with one hand, a small smile on her face.

When she released him, Rias shuffled closer, leaning her head against his shoulder.

They remained like that for quite some time until Rias fully began to relax, slowly beginning to doze off, the last thing she heard was one final, whispered request.

"It's the duty of your Pawn to protect you, always. So please, Buchou, leave that gaudy bird to me. I owe you everything, so let me try returning the favor, even just a little."

He wasn't quite sure if Rias had heard all of that, as she had finally drifted off completely.

But from the content, almost innocent smile on her face, Yuuji supposed she'd heard enough.

After waiting to make sure she was fully settled, Yuuji carried her up to her shared room with the other girls, slipping in without disturbing anyone.

As he pulled the blankets over her, he looked up to meet Akeno's knowing smile.

No actual words were spoken, but she mouthed a 'thank you' in his direction.

A return nod, and Yuuji slipped out of the room without a sound.

Alone with his thoughts once more.

* * *

It had been over a week since they'd come to the mountains.

They trained from morning to night, and sometimes continued after dark.

Each day started with a run through mountain trails, led by Yuuji.

Any 'breaks' on the run were stops to do various exercises such as push-ups or lunges.

A few hours after breakfast often involved magic lessons from Akeno, with Raynare and Kalawarner joining in after the first day.

After a half-serious suggestion from Raynare, some of Akeno's magic lessons had turned into games of hide-and-seek, utilizing the illusion magic that Akeno was teaching Asia and Yuuji.

Raynare participated as well, though she didn't seem willing to share _where_ she'd picked up the basics from.

Akeno and Raynare had playful personalities that meshed well with 'mystical shenanigans' as Raynare put it, while Asia had a vivid imagination.

Akeno had quite aptly surmised that having a way to defend herself without causing harm to anyone would suit her, and she'd proven to have a knack for it.

Kalawarner was passable at it, but it was clear it would never be her strong suit.

Yuuji, however?

Yuuji was boring, which actually worked slightly in his favor at times, because as long as he was trying to create something 'realistic', realistic is what he'd get.

He had a good eye for detail, and as long as it wasn't anything larger than a fair sized bush, his magic could faithfully duplicate it.

Anything larger and it would start to fray at the edges, even with Promoting to Bishop.

Akeno also helped them find and start to develop their magical affinities, or magic and elements they had the most aptitude for.

Gentle Asia displayed perhaps the most potential of anyone when it came to barriers, but she was also fairly skilled with natural elements.

Not to the same degree as Akeno by any means, but the width of the gap was made to seem wider than it was by her lack of aggression.

Between her magic and her Twilight Healing, Asia was shaping up to be an incredibly powerful supporting player, though predictably, she'd likely always struggle with the idea of actually harming another, well, anything.

Yuuji's didn't have an 'affinity' so to speak, but once getting a better handle on channeling his demonic-power, he was noticeably able to improve the performance of any weapons he summoned from his Arsenal Memoir.

Kiba used his power in a similar fashion to enhance his Sword Birth.

As Fallen Angels, both Raynare and Kalawarner had a natural affinity towards light that no Devil could wield, in a sense their 'internal light' fulfilled the same function as the demonic power of the Devils.

Though, it was better suited for being shaped directly, the most basic function being light-spears.

Raynare had a high aptitude for creating and shaping multiple light-spears, and seemed to be able to perform at a reasonable level for any magic she tried, though why she never made weapons other than spears was a topic the Fallen Angels were hesitant to address.

She was also the fastest and most maneuverable in the air, though she couldn't keep up with Kiba on land.

Kalawarner had her axes, and was good at creating barriers, but mostly her light was instinctively used for strengthening her body, part of the reason she was so strong.

As Kiba had pointed out, she was pretty much on par with Koneko in that regard, though a geared a bit more towards defense.

Yuuji's Rook Promotion and Akeno's Rook trait for her Queen Piece put them a step behind, with Yuuji being skewed towards offence, while Akeno's was mostly used with defence in mind.

Kiba's talent for swordplay had continued to integrate some of Yuuji's less orthodox ideas, to the point where his effective range with Sword Birth was almost on par with one of Yuuji's pistols.

He'd become quite adept at throwing or launching swords, and had even started to show a slight ability to change swords he had already created, though at this point it was mostly things like increasing the length or weight a bit as he swung.

He was also becoming more willing to improvise and play dirty, or as Yuuji bluntly put it, as a Knight had 'gotten over himself'.

Koneko's fighting style had become significantly more acrobatic, the little Rook far less likely to move in straight lines, all the while tightening her movements, allowing her to become an even more dangerous infighter than ever before.

She was also better able to use the environment as she closed in, meaning she took less hits overall in the early stages of a fight.

She'd become stronger as a Rook, meaning that to she had to hold back her power a fair bit when going hand to hand with anyone but Kalawarner or Yuuji.

Outside of Promotion, though, Yuuji's advantage mostly was skill and experience when it came to an outright fistfight.

Akeno had worked hard to increase her aptitude with the Rook and Knight traits of her Queen Piece, and while she still favored the Bishop, now had a reasonable skill level with all three.

Her Rook was mostly used for enhancing her defensive magic, so while Asia showed promise, and Rias was skilled as well, Akeno was still firmly in the lead in that regard.

This made her the first responder when shielding the group as a whole was necessary.

The speed enhancement of the Knight had made her the second fastest in the peerage (though she was just about tied with Raynare overall), with Yuuji being more nimble when Promoted, but capable of less overall speed.

Curiously though, Yuuji noted that despite her being a Reincarnated Devil, Akeno, like Raynare, best demonstrated her agility while airborne.

Rias had perhaps been putting in the longest hours of anyone, working hard as King to lead her household as efficiently as possible.

This required her to be constantly on top of any advances the others made, so as to understand how to effectively utilize their talents at all times.

Yuuji had helped her quite a bit in the early days, but stepped back from it more and more, freely admitting that her talents as a leader were quickly outpacing his ability to teach.

By the fifth day, she was receiving the occasional tip from him at best.

That seemed to make him quite happy, and her a little flustered, as he openly stated that few things were more reassuring in the field than a skilled commander.

Her Power of Destruction already responded quite well to her will, and Rias had worked hard on focusing her power to more effectively fight someone like Riser.

While she chose to believe in Yuuji's promise, she had no intention of thrusting all the burden on him.

Rias was a King, not a princess in a tower.

Thus, with concentration she could found she could make the Power of Destruction linger slightly, clinging to a target and devouring it like a ravenous, oily flame.

At most, she could make it cling for about 10 seconds, but even then, the damage was horrific.

Taking things in a different direction, she'd also picked up on infusing Destruction directly into her limbs, allowing her to transfer it directly into her strikes.

Akeno had begun developing the same technique with her lightning, though both would require more practice to use it on the fly.

The two third years had also made some reasonable progress in hand to hand, though they weren't quite to the point where they could consistently match dedicated melee combatants like Kiba or Koneko.

Even still, sparring matches were now less likely to end abruptly if distance was lost, and Yuuji had stated their skills had risen from 'nonexistent' to 'almost adequate'.

Towards the older girls, that was high praise indeed, since Yuuji restrained the harshness of his tongue quite a bit less.

He wasn't a very good junior at times.

As a group, they'd worked hard on various formations for both attack and defense, as well as their coordination as a team.

Up until that point, the household had mostly fought as individuals, carried through on their talents, but they still had a tendency to hesitate without Rias to give the go ahead.

Several 'team exercises' had been Rias' sole Pawn ruthlessly quashing that little quirk.

* * *

No one had quite caught on as to why, but Yuuji was always the last to retire for the night, often by several hours.

On more than one night, he would wander through the front door late into the evening, covered in dirt and with a strange, stinging odor clinging to his clothes.

Most of the time, when questioned he'd respond with a flippant 'just needed some air', but on the last night, Akeno had risen from bed for a glass of water, only to burst into the living room as Yuuji staggered through the front door, leaning heavily against the door-frame.

"Yuuji!? Where have you been!?"

Akeno rushed forward in a panic, throwing an arm around Yuuji to support him as he wobbled.

"Breaking the Geneva Convention."

His voice was thick and raspy as he spoke, his body leaning heavily into hers.

For the first time, his mask slipped, and Akeno could see the bone-deep weariness that had set in.

Just how little had he slept?

How had they not noticed?

How had _she_ not noticed?

Just that morning, Kiba had expressed concern over never once seeing his roommate in the mornings.

True, Yuuji was an early riser, but there had to be limits.

"Ara? I don't understand what you mean, but… that's enough, Yuuji. Why are you going so far?"

As she spoke, Akeno lead him towards the couch.

"I made a promise. Going this far is the least I can do to fulfill it. You've all worked too hard for me to do any less."

As they sat down, Yuuji tensed slightly, but didn't resist at all as the raven-haired beauty continued to pull his head back.

A soft sensation as Yuuji found himself looking up at Akeno, his head resting on her legs, left mostly bare from the short, tight black nightie she wore.

She smiled tenderly down at him, one hand running absently through his hair.

"Fufufu, I've been looking forward to this."

"I'm kind of dusty right now."

"You've been trying so hard, haven't you? Just rest for a bit and let Onee-san pamper you."

"...I suppose I'll be in your care, then."

Soft fingers continued to comb through his hair as Yuuji's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, his lack of resistance an obvious hint at his exhaustion.

"Say… Yuuji-kun?"

This wasn't really fair of her to ask right now, but... just a moment of weakness was fine, right?

"Hm?"

"If… ff I was the one in danger… would you come save me too?"

"As many times as you need."

As if he had no more words left to say, Yuuji closed his eyes and drifted away before she could reply.

Savoring his peaceful, sleeping face, Akeno reached down to gently brush a lock of hair away from his face.

Gentle lips graced his forehead with feelings left unspoken.

* * *

The last day of the training camp started like any other.

But for the first time, there were a pair of absentees, and for the first time, Rias was the one leading the morning run.

After discovering the reason behind it, though, no one could bring themselves to complain.

For now, they would let the pair sleep.

The return to Kuoh happened all too quickly. But they were ready.

Someone was trying to take away their King's future.

Time to take it back.

* * *

 **This chapter ended up being a bit bigger than I thought, because I kept getting ideas for scenes to flesh out the cast more. The wordplay between characters is always fun for me to write, so I put a lot of work into it.**

 **We see that as usual, Kazami Yuuji deals with stress in a wholesome and constructive manner. RIP Wall-kun, you will be missed.**

 **Finally, good timing for Yuuji and Rias to have significant interaction that wasn't primarily Yuuji tormenting the poor girl, and Akeno manages to get a bit of skinship in after being cockblocked by Koneko. Who was also the real hero there, by the way, Yuuji nailed it when he said baths are supposed to be relaxing. Another good scene for highlighting the differences between Yuuji and Issei.**

 **And yeah, I was planning the classroom scenes for a while, Kala-sensei doesn't have to put up a brave front to keep Raynare stable, so she's allowed to feel feelings and confront her many issues. Because I'd feel like I was wasting my time if I posted a chapter without any past trauma in it. As a side note, Kalawarner's complex about her size was largely influenced by Medusa's complex about her size (from the Fate franchise). Because it was adorable, and kind of funny to find out that they were tall by Japanese standards, which set a lower bar than I'm used to.**

 **As always, thank you to all who read, and thanks to those who reviewed.**

 **I'll see you in the next chapter when the Gremory's go bird-hunting.**

 **PS. Yuuji better step up his game, or Akeno will build the harem first.**


	6. Courage, Cruelty, Catharsis

**I've been looking forward to writing this chapter ever since I decided to write this story. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing the longest chapter yet.**

* * *

"Kazami Yuuji returning to post, conditions normal. Resuming standby status"

"...I'm home, JB."

Yuuji finished his final call-in, as he'd been expected to report in every night while in the mountains.

The Gremory household (with their two Fallen Angel companions) had just returned from their training camp, and with it being about midday, they had a day and a half before the Rating Game against Riser and his peerage.

Putting away his phone, Yuuji stepped back around to the front of the clubroom, where Asia, Raynare and Kalawarner were waiting for him.

Still carrying their bags, they began the walk home.

Truthfully, they could have just used a magic circle to go from the clubroom to their house in an instant, but there was no hurry so Yuuji felt that it was just being lazy.

The walk home was uneventful, but a buzzing from his cell caught his attention just as they stepped into their shared house.

Telling the girls he had to take the call, he stepped back outside.

"Your prescription just arrived, when can you stop by the clinic?"

The man on the other end of the phone spoke in a clipped, professional tone of voice.

"I'm free. Would half an hour work?"

"That's just fine. Door will be open."

"Thanks."

Stepping back into the house, Yuuji told the girls he had an errand to run, and asked if they needed anything picked up.

He waved away offers to come along, telling them just to relax, as he wouldn't be gone long.

He returned just in time for dinner, which was a significantly quieter affair than it had been for the last couple of days, with only four people present.

Perhaps it was just the tension in the air, with only one day left.

It didn't matter in the end, he supposed.

They were ready.

* * *

He awoke as daylight filtered through the gaps in the living room curtain.

Yuuji let out a groan, a week of intense training and little sleep finally catching up with him.

The impromptu night with Akeno had been the only one where he slept soundly.

Maybe she'd be on board with doing that more often?

He could almost see her delighted smile and twinkling eyes as he imagined making the request.

It seemed he'd overdone it a little, because his limbs felt like they had weights strapped to them, and his chest was tight, restricted as if something was coiled around it.

Apparently, the world was colluding to make him as much of an invalid as possible, because he'd also rolled off the couch and onto the floor.

He tried to lift his head, only to find his vision obscured by a golden curtain draped across his chest.

Golden blonde.

Asia?

He lifted his arm to gently roll her off of him.

Tried.

His left arm wouldn't move at all, so he turned his head to the left.

Black hair.

Akeno?

No... Raynare?

She was gripping his arm like a pillow, burying it neatly within her cleavage.

His head turned slowly, ponderously to his immobile right arm, trapped even more firmly than the left, not all that surprising if that head of silky blue hair belonged to who he thought it did.

The blonde head moved first though, sleepy emerald eyes blinking up at him.

A yawn. Adorable, really.

He wasn't irritated at all.

"Good morning, Yuuji-san."

The two Fallen Angels stirred at that, the rustling noise revealing that they had their wings out and wrapped around the pile of bodies.

Come to think of it, the floor was just a bit softer than it should be.

Kalawarner was the faster of the two, a sleepy, dazed expression contrasted her formal tone.

"Good morning, Yuuji-sama."

Just then, Raynare stirred with the loudest yawn yet.

Unluckily, as the last one to move, she caught the full force of Yuuji's mounting irritation.

She stiffened as dark eyes glared at her.

"Explain."

"Nightmare."

Raynare ducked her head sheepishly into Yuuji's arm.

The glare shifted to Asia, still lying more or less on top of him.

"Nightmare."

She too, ducked her head sheepishly.

Into Yuuji's chest.

He didn't give Kalawarner a chance to answer.

"Nightmare?"

She shamefacedly imitated the other two girls.

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Oppressive silence.

"So all four of us slept on the floor, after a week of training."

A mild, conversational tone of voice, as the speaker stared up at the ceiling.

... The silence grew awkward, the girls too embarrassed to speak up quite yet.

" _Off._ "

The various obstructions hastened from the room, unwilling to anger the once sleeping beast any further.

Just as they were unwilling to reveal who the nightmare had belonged to.

* * *

The day of the decisive battle had arrived.

For the last day, Yuuji had been gone for the most part, dealing with 'final preparations' that he hadn't been willing to tell his housemates about.

They were used to it by now, and left it be.

Yuuji would tell them if he thought it was important.

That wasn't to say they were happy about it, because they'd noticed that Yuuji kept a certain distance from everyone.

They could only hope he'd open up to them, given time.

In a way, that too was why Asia had wanted to fight, to _have_ that time. Raynare and Kalawarner, for their parts, were feeling the pressure.

Being allowed to do nothing but wait hurt more than they'd imagined.

Two hours to midnight.

Currently, the two Fallen Angels were sitting on one couch, while Yuuji in his school uniform was sitting on the other in his school uniform, reading a book.

Most of the young Devils would be wearing the uniform, as it was something they were comfortable in.

One notable exception had just come out from the bedroom.

Asia, in her green nun's dress.

She wasn't wearing her habit, and her rosary (for obvious reasons) had been left behind as well.

Yuuji raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"She- Buchou did say to wear what was most comfortable… even if I'm a Devil I still…"

"It suits you, Asia."

Yuuji offered a small, reassuring smile.

"Yeah, just because you're fighting doesn't mean you can't look cute doing it!"

Raynare grinned as Asia blushed and fidgeted.

"Agreed, Asia-san wears it well."

Kalawarner gave an approving nod as she spoke.

The blonde was still standing where she was, looking happy from the praise, but hesitant still.

"Y-Yuuji-san?"

"Hm?"

"Would… would you sit with us?"

Yuuji tilted his head to the side, but Kalawarner and Raynare seemed to understand, as they shuffled closer together, taking up one end of the couch, with just enough room for…

With her hair covering her face, Asia raised one hand to point at the couch they were sitting on.

Yuuji watched her for a moment in silence before answering.

"Sure, if that's what you want."

As Asia sat down beside Raynare, Yuuji sat down on the unoccupied side.

"It's a little cramped."

"I-I'm sorry, but can we stay like this for a little while? It's harder to be scared with all of you close."

Asia's voice was barely more than a whisper, and her eyes were glued to the floor.

The two Fallen Angels shared knowing, fond smiles.

"I don't mind."

"A-and, can we stay together like this? Forever?"

It wasn't just Yuuji she was asking.

"Forever."

Raynare.

"Forever."

Kalawarner.

The slightest pause from the man of the house.

"Forever, then."

He'd have to buy a bigger couch.

* * *

The peerage had gathered at the clubroom. 20 minutes to midnight.

Elegant as usual, Rias and Akeno were sipping green tea quietly.

Kiba was leaned up against the wall, adjusting the steel bracers and greaves he was wearing over his school uniform.

One couch had Koneko lying across it on her stomach, legs kicking in the air, with the fingerless gloves of a martial artist on her hands as she read her book.

The gloves were black, with pink kitten faces on the backs.

Yuuji and Asia were on one of the other couches, Asia sitting quietly while Yuuji flipped through a book of his own.

His mind wasn't really with it, as his senses were focused on the rest of the room.

Needlessly, he was happy to say.

Any prior nervousness had given way to alertness and anticipation.

To be honest, he was actually more worried about Raynare and Kalawarner.

They were at home, waiting for word of either victory or defeat.

That was never easy, he remembered how tense he used to get when Asako went out on a job.

Though, hopefully the steps he'd taken to deal with that little issue worked out.

Before long, a familiar circle swirled into life, as Grayfia, in her typical maid's dress, appeared in the room.

"10 minutes until the match. Is everyone ready? "

Everyone rose to their feet, as Grayfia began to explain the Rating Game.

"When the time for the battle arrives, you'll be transported onto the battlefield prepared. The battlefield is a separate dimension prepared specifically for such contests, so fight to your hearts content. This particular field is disposable, so there is no need to restrain yourselves."

"Furthermore, I have been asked to inform you that this battle will be observed, both by the heads of the respective households, as well as Maou Lucifer-sama and select other guests."

Rias was too busy reacting to that bit of news to notice the brief glance the head maid shot Yuuji.

Guess things had worked out.

"Onii-sama?... I see, Onii-sama will be observing the battle."

"Your brother is L-Lucifer, Buchou?"

Asia seemed suddenly nervous. Not really surprising, for a former (sort of former?) Christian.

Sensing her distress, Rias gave a soft smile.

"My apologies Asia, I suppose I've been neglecting that aspect of your lessons a bit. Lucifer is actually the title held by one of the Four Great Satans. My brother, along with Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub, are the leaders of the Underworld. Sirzechs Gremory has taken on the name Sirzechs Lucifer, as the Satans are no longer able to inherit their family legacy."

"So 'Maou' is like a managerial position?"

Yuuji joined in, curious.

Kiba took over.

"That's probably the best way to describe it. In many ways, the Satans are a shield for the Underworld, as without them we're actually far behind the other Factions in terms of power. Buchou's brother is the most powerful of the Satans, who are considered to be as strong or stronger than the original four."

"Figures your older brother would be amazing as well."

Catching his meaning, Rias flushed and smiled, while Akeno gave a soft giggle.

With small cough, Grayfia took control of the conversation.

"I have some last minute preparations to make, so I'll leave you be for now."

As the circle formed, she paused for a moment, and allowed herself a tiny, but warm smile.

"Good luck, all of you."

* * *

10 minutes until the battle.

Neither women could contain their anxiety, both sets of eyes glued to the clock.

A nervously tapping leg beat a steady rhythm on the floor.

Tense though they were, the Fallen Angels were caught completely off guard as the room was illuminated by a swirl of cold blue light, a magic circle emblazoning itself on the ground.

And the one who stepped out…

"Raynare-sama, Kalawarner-sama, I presume? Pardon my intrusion."

Was one woman known by the title of 'The Strongest Queen'.

Grayfia Lucifuge offered a polite bow towards the two dumbfounded women before her.

* * *

An unfamiliar crest appeared on the clubroom floor, flooding the room with light and rapidly expanding.

A brief sensation of being pulled…

... The Gremory Devils found themselves standing in the clubroom once more.

"Home field advantage? They're really looking down on us… no matter. They won't be able to say a word once we win."

Rias sat down at the replica of her desk.

"School, huh? Well that gives us a lot to work with. What's the plan, Buchou?"

Yuuji was peering out the window as he spoke.

As far as he could tell, the only noticeable difference was that the sky above was white, almost as if there wasn't anything to the world beyond the school.

Which, come to think of it, there probably wasn't.

Rias held up a hand, signalling to Yuuji to wait for a moment.

[The location where both teams have been transported to is their 'base'. Rias-sama's 'base' is in the clubroom for the Occult Research Club, located in the old school building. Meanwhile, Riser-sama's 'base' is in the new school building, located in the Student Council Office. Pawns, please make you way into the enemy base in order to use Promotion.]

Yuuji let his eyes drift towards the third floor of the new school building.

Going from the inside might be safer than flying, especially since the student council room was on the opposite side from them.

Yuuji would be a sitting duck in the air like that, flying was still a little tricky for him.

The fact that there were 8 Pawns looking to Promote on the other side was another problem problem in and of itself.

Riser could end up with as many as 9 Queen's if they weren't careful.

"Everyone, please put these transceivers in your ears."

Akeno handed out earphone style transceivers to each of the household, before stepping into the side-room.

"We'll use these to communicate in the field."

Rias explained as she put hers in.

[I, Grayfia Lucifuge will be overseeing this battle. Fight to your heart's content, and show the strength of your conviction. The battle will last until dawn. Let the Game begin.]

* * *

"We'll need to prioritize taking out the Pawns before they Promote. Extra Queens would be troublesome."

Rias was sipping tea that Akeno had just finished preparing. Yuuji watched her carefully, assessing.

...Man, he'd really lucked out as a subordinate, hadn't he?

"Conversely, I'm not sure it's worth the risk to try getting Yuuji Promoted while we're this outnumbered. There's too much enemy territory between us and that goal, and we can't take any unnecessary risks. We're lucky this is a longer style Rating Game, rather than a blitz. We'd be overrun on an open field."

"Yuuto."

At her urging, Kiba spreads a map of the school out on the table.

It was convenient that the contents of their clubroom had been replicated as well.

Likely, all those spare beds had been as well.

Maybe Yuuji could take a nap if things got slow.

Yeah, Rias would take that idea well.

"There's a forest near our base. You could consider that part of our territory, while the new school building belongs to Riser's side. We can expect an ambush once we enter there, and since the school field is visible from there, it's too dangerous to cross at this point."

Once the Rating Game had begun, teleportation via magic circle was prohibited, so they'd have to walk or fly.

Flying was the more dangerous option, give the lack of cover.

"We can expect the school field to be heavily guarded, and in an open space like that, at least one of the Knights and three Pawns will be positioned. The mobility of the Knight will be a huge advantage, so they'll likely be lying in wait in one of the club-rooms surrounding the sports ground. It's also possible to have at least one Bishop hiding in ambush with large area magic at the ready."

Kiba shared his thoughts then.

"Then Buchou, what about the gymnasium itself? That gives a secure route to the school building if we can secure it."

Rias nodded, having a similar opinion.

"I think you're correct. We'll need to secure it quickly, since that's an ideal route for them as well. That's a likely location for one of their Rooks to be guarding, since their defensive power makes them ideal for locking down a smaller location."

"And so I think that first off, we'll have Yuuto and Koneko set traps in the forest… is what I'd like to say. But we have someone who's proficient at making a forest an unwelcoming place, don't we?"

Rias smirked at her Pawn while she spoke.

"Leave it to me, Buchou. Personal experience suggests that Devils are on the lookout for magical, rather than mundane traps."

Yuuji's return smirk caused some sympathetic shudders from his comrades.

They were his 'personal experience' after all.

"Akeno, go with him. Some illusions and mists that only react to the enemy will make the traps harder to spot, and even if they do break through them, putting the enemy on guard for magic will hopefully make them even less prepared for the real threat. After that, you're on overwatch, and I'll trust you to move when the time is right."

"Yes, Buchou. I acknowledge your orders to spend alone time with my boyfriend. If we're delayed, it's because I'm hopefully being devoured by a wild beast who finally caught an innocent maiden all on her own."

Akeno's teasing giggle mixing with Rias' sigh as Yuuji stared blankly at her.

"Yuuto, Koneko, I want you two to take the gym. It should still have enough room for Kiba to move freely, but if necessary I want you to hang back, and act as Koneko's support, understood?"

"Yes, Buchou."

"Roger."

The two stood side by side.

"Asia, relax for now. You and I will be on standby for a bit, but I expect before long we'll be defending this place. I'll take the lead, of course, but I'll be counting on your help alright?"

As Rias spoke, she stood up from her desk, taking the teapot to refill both her and Asia's cups.

"Y-yes, Buchou!"

As Asia replied, the King finished pouring tea and stood proudly to her full height, raising a hand forward.

"Now then, my adorable servants, are you ready? No turning back now, our opponent is the Immortal Bird himself! Time to blow them all away!"

Five voices in unison.

"Yes, Buchou!"

* * *

 **Earlier**

The silver-haired maid regarded the two battle-ready individuals before her, watching their expressions shift as their minds worked in overdrive, well-honed survival instincts weighing every option.

Obviously…

"Kazami-sama neglected to mention anything, didn't he? My deepest apologies if I startled either of you, I come in peace."

Grayfia offered a polite bow, hands folded in front of her.

The two Fallen Angels relaxed their posture slightly, confusion momentarily replacing fear as the silver-haired woman before them sighed softly.

"Y-Yuuji-kun? What does he have to do with this?"

The black -haired Fallen Angel, Raynare-san, she believed, spoke first.

"Kazami-sama hoped it would put the two of you just a little more at ease if you were able to observe the battle directly. Of course, being in the same room as some of the most powerful members of the Underworld would likely have the opposite effect, but that is easily avoided."

As she explained, Grayfia slowly, carefully reached her hand into a small magic circle that appeared in the air beside her.

The Two Fallen Angels tensed up again, but what Grayfia pulled out was a small device, with a large lens on one end.

Looking around the room, Grayfia gave a slight nod, and set it on the table.

A push of a button, and a magic circle appeared before the lens, before projecting a rectangular image onto the empty wall.

A slight gasp from Raynare, and Kalawarner, as they found themselves staring at an image of the clubroom, where Yuuji, Asia and their companions seemed to be strategizing around a map of sorts.

"This is a live feed of the Rating Game, more or less the same as what is being displayed at the viewing room."

As she spoke, Grayfia reached into the circle from before once again, and pulled out what seemed to be a small remote.

She handed it to Kalawarner, who stood numbly for a moment before accepting.

"I- I don't understand… Grayfia-san was it?"

At the bluenette's words, a quiet exhale slipped from Grayfia's lips.

"Kazami-sama insured me he would inform both of you, I suppose it is my own failing to not have asked _when_ he would do so. What a troublesome child."

Grayfia didn't actually seem to be particularly annoyed, Raynare felt.

She liked to think she'd gotten pretty good at reading people, since Kala wasn't all that expressive either.

"Thank you, Grayfia-san. Forgive us for the rude reception."

Kalawarner, relaxing her posture and bowing slightly as she spoke.

"Thanks a lot, Grayfia-san!"

Raynare gave a sunny smile and a bow, now at ease once more.

"Think nothing of it, and I apologize once more. I would have acted more discreetly if I was aware I was arriving unannounced. I'll leave the two of you to it then, I must return to my duties."

Grayfia gave a bow of her own, which the two Fallen returned before a transportation circle appeared beneath her.

She paused for a brief moment, as if wanting to say something more, but seemed to think better of it and disappeared without another word.

Raynare and Kalawarner looked at each other for a moment.

"It's just like Yuuji-kun to be a total jerk while going out of his way to be nice to us."

"Agreed, Yuuji-sama's unpleasant attitude offers quite the contrast between his thoughtful nature."

The girls stared at each other for another moment before they both began to giggle softly, sitting down on the couch to watch the fight.

They would have to thank him later.

... Under no circumstances would they waste time worried about whether or not that 'later' would exist.

* * *

"We've reached the gym, Buchou."

 _["Be ready, you two. There will be no avoiding a fight once you enter."]_

That was the hope.

No more watching in silence as their King wrestled with her fear of the future.

No more clenched fists and grit teeth as she assured them she was okay, and would handle it.

Anything that could render the smile of their master so _brittle_ was something just begging to be crushed... and now, they had their chance.

As they slipped in the back door of the gym, creeping quietly up the stairs towards the stage.

Koneko seemed the straighten slightly, and tapped Kiba on the shoulder before pointing forward and holding up four fingers.

Kiba nodded, unable to see with the stage blocking vision, but having no doubt in Koneko's senses.

"We know you're there, Servants of Gremory! No use hiding!"

The Rook and Knight looked to each other and shrugged.

Striding boldly up onto the stage, with the curtains out of the way they had a clear view of the gymnasium, and their four opponents.

Standing at the front was a woman with narrowed blue-green eyes with a daringly cut cheongsam, with side slits all the way up her hips and a low neckline, as well as the tradition slippers worn by many martial artists.

Her shoulder length black hair was partially up in two buns, and a white, over-center sash and black leather armguards completed her attire.

Beside her, was the girl Yuuji had terrified into submission back in the clubroom.

She seemed a bit relieved, likely because she wasn't seeing Yuuji.

... Not that that fact would do her any good.

The Pawn, Mira, was a brown-eyed young girl with her blue hair in twintails, stood in her white haori underneath a red happi coat.

Her arms and legs were wrapped in cloth bandages, and she had wooden sandals (geta).

She had her wooden staff leaning up against her right side.

The last two individuals were small twins about Koneko's height, wearing what looked to be white and black school PE uniforms, both with bright turquoise hair and blue eyes.

Their weapons…

"Koneko-chan."

"Yes, Yuuto-senpai?"

"The girl in front is probably a Rook, and the other three are Pawns. I imagine you want to handle the leader."

"Mhm."

"So then…"

"Yes Yuuto-senpai. You have to fight the chainsaw twins."

"Thought as much."

Laughing ruefully, Kiba hopped off the stage, Koneko mirroring the move.

"You're Toujou Koneko, are you not? I, Riser-sama's Rook Xuelan, will be your opponent. Mira, Ile, Nel, deal with the Knight. The three of you should be able to do it."

The twins revved their chainsaws with far more cheer than Kiba was happy with.

"Disassembling time~!"

"Sword Birth."

Kiba held his hand out to the side, and offered a salute with the longsword that had just appeared in his hand.

"I, Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Rias Gremory will be your opponent."

Faster than they could close the distance, he was upon them, sword lashing out towards the blue-haired Pawn.

With a gasp of surprise, she deflected it with her staff, but Kiba merely spun with it and kicked her away.

Whirring saw blades crossed the spot where he'd been standing, but Kiba hurled himself airborne, whirling almost parallel to the ground to avoid the strikes.

They brought their weapons around for a second strike as Kiba hit the ground, but he collapsed into a low crouch, and they were forced to hurl themselves backwards as blades erupted beneath their feet.

Kiba surged upwards once more to meet the overhead swing of Mira, exchanging blows in a brief flurry.

As he engaged, Koneko battled Xuelan, the enemy Rook getting the first strike with her long leg in a sidelong kick.

Koneko dipped under the blow and closed in, but with a yell, the taller Rook brought her outstretched leg above her head and swept it down in a vicious axe-kick.

Koneko slipped to the side, twisting as she did so to slam a fist into her opponents gut.

Xuelan gagged, but shook it off almost immediately, hopping back a step to release a storm of sharp kicks.

Koneko weaved and slipped through the barrage, subtly weaving closer.

Finally, a kick got through, slamming into Koneko and pushing her back.

With both hands gripping the outstretched foot.

Xuelan shrieked as the trapped limb was used to hurl her across the room, bouncing off the elevated stage.

Koneko let out a small smile and charged off in pursuit.

A giggling girl sent wood splinters flying as her intended target twirled away, her chainsaw carving into the gym floor.

Kiba continued his spin, slamming his sword into the side of the second twins chainsaw to divert the attack, before halting Mira's charge with a long blade that sprung from the floor directly into her charge line.

Turning back to the twins with a determined expression, Kiba did a complete spin, grasping his sword with both hands as the blade extended, sweeping towards them both.

A surprised yelp followed as one twin ducked, but the other tried to raise her chainsaw to block, too slowly to defend.

A thin, bloody line drew itself just above her collar bone.

Her twin gave a panicked yell and ran over to her.

The wound wasn't particularly deep, but Kiba wasn't really trying to kill anyone.

Mira was launched off her feet, her staff splintering but just barely holding as rather than try to halt the momentum of his now heavier weapon, Kiba simply let it slip from his grasp, hurtling towards the blue-haired Pawn.

Before she could rise, the breath was smashed out of her lungs with as yet another improvised missile slammed into her… her own teammate, Xuelan.

As they fell in a jumbled pile, Kiba heard a message through the transceiver.

A quick glance Koneko's way, they both dashed for a side door, ignoring the yells of their opponents.

They hit the outside and skidded to a halt a fair distance away, side by side.

Without looking at each other, they knocked their fists together, and lightning from above gutted the gymnasium in a blinding flash.

[Riser Phoenix; 1 Rook and 3 Pawns retired.]

Akeno's merry laughter intermingled with the calm announcement.

* * *

This was a waste of time.

Mists and false pathways did little to conceal the hastily made traps the Gremory servants had placed.

Simple runes that would explode when touched, seals that would turn the ground into mud…

Likely, one of the Gremory servants was hiding in the forest, but even if it was their Knight, Shuriya was confident that she could handle him with Marion and Burent's help.

The three of them might only be Pawns, but unlike the fledgling Gremory's, they were winners of _actua_ l Rating Games, not this pretend play.

Those thoughts kept Shuriya occupied as she absentmindedly disabled yet another rune, this one keyed to send a bolt of lightning forward once touched.

Unconcerned and more than a little bored, she stepped across the now empty patch of ground.

As it gave way slightly beneath her with a dull click-

The ground erupted before she even had time to scream.

[Riser's Pawn retired.]

The resulting explosion hurled Marion and Burent off their feet as fire and shrapnel consumed their comrade.

Wild-eyed, Marion stumbled to her feet, gaping at the empty spot where Shuriya had been.

"Burent, are you alright?"

She turned to her fellow Pawn, ignoring the dust that marred her black and white maid outfit and white tights.

"Burent? Burent where are you!?"

She cast about the clearing frantically.

Where was she?

Where was Burent?

She didn't want to be in the forest alone.

She didn't want to she didn't want to-

A startled gasp at the rustle of branches.

Casting her eyes about, Marion summoned demonic power to her hand, spell at the ready.

Another rustle, and she pinpointed the noise.

...Directly above her.

 _A pair of legs covered in white tights, just like her own._

Burent was thrashing above her, clawing desperately at something coiled around her neck.

"B-Burent! Hang- hang on, I'll get you down! Stay with me!"

"Sorry, but I don't think you will."

A dry voice right beside her ear.

[Riser Phoenix, two Pawns retired.]

* * *

 _["Good work you two, head towards the sports field. Stay low for now until Yuuji meets up with you, then proceed towards Phase Two. Akeno, pull back towards us and let your magic recover, and then we'll head towards the school building with Asia."]_

 ** _BOOOOM!_**

Whatever confirmation he intended to give was drowned out as Kiba found himself suddenly half-blind and airborne as a massive explosion hurled him away.

He hit the ground hard, bouncing and skidding.

Dazed, Kiba stared at the spot he'd been standing a moment before, and the tiny, limp form on the ground.

"Koneko-chan!"

Staggering to his feet, Kiba rushed over to her.

Koneko was covered in burns, her clothing in tatters.

She had taken a direct hit, while he'd merely been hurtled through the air by the backlash.

"Take."

A cruel voice, as a shadow drifted above the pair.

A woman drifted on black wings, one eye covered by wavy, long purple hair.

A navy dress with open sides and a plunging neckline to show off her enormous bust, a white cape, and a golden choker.

The staff in her hands still wreathed in wisps of flame.

"Fufu the best time to launch a surprise attack is right after your prey accomplishes something. We can easily sacrifice a piece of three simply to take one of yours. After all, we-"

She was forced to dodge as a bolt of lightning cracked through the sky.

"As if I care. Become the next sacrifice, Bomb Queen."

Akeno-san was **_furious_**.

Kiba really didn't envy the enemy Queen right now.

"Yuuto-kun, get Koneko-chan to Asia. I have business with this one."

Akeno's voice was cold, harsh. The air about her snapped and crackled as golden sparks danced about her arms.

"S-Sorry, Yuuto-senpai… Akeno-senpai…"

The little white-haired girl in his arms was barely holding on, her eyelids fighting to stay open.

"I… wanted to help… more… I wanted to be of use…. m-more…"

"You did just fine, Koneko-chan. Let your senpai take it from here, alright?"

He smiled softly at the girl held gently in his arms, who gave a shudder and went limp before falling through his hands in a shower of soft blue light.

[Rias Gremory, one Rook retired.]

Above, the two Queens circled higher clashing with a violent howl of magic.

Alone, Kiba's soft smile contorted into something vicious.

Shaking hands twitched, and what sprung to life was a 'sword' that hissed in his grasp as if alive.

Deep breaths, Yuuto.

The sword vanished as Kiba rose to his feet.

He would trust Akeno to deal with this, but he wouldn't allow himself to give in to rage.

Even if that's what he wanted.

* * *

"Stiff competition, looks like."

Yuuji stepped out of the brush, to the wall Kiba was leaned up against as he watched the sports field.

Kiba turned to him with the same easy, relaxing smile as always.

"A Knight, a Rook and a Bishop. They sure aren't going easy on us. But well, I think a hard fight sounds nice right about now. We can't face Koneko-chan as men if we embarrass ourselves here. Let's answer her regrets, Yuuji-kun."

"Yeah, let's do this, Kiba."

As he spoke, Yuuji put a calming hand on Kiba's shoulder.

Kiba looked at him in surprise, before relaxing with a long sigh.

"A battle between Devils is a serious affair, isn't it? I can't tell if it's excitement, fear or anger that's making me shake this much."

"It doesn't really matter in the end. You can puzzle out your feelings after we win."

Kiba blinked and laughed, a genuine, easy chuckle out of place on the battlefield.

"I'll do just that. Ready, then, Yuuji-kun?"

Kiba held out his fist, and Yuuji bumped his own against it, meeting the Knight's smile with a smirk of his own.

The two men stepped out onto the field.

* * *

 ** _BOOM_**

A flap of her wings brought her safely above the attack, and Akeno retaliated with a narrow bolt of lightning that blew off one of Yubelluna's shoulder pads.

Yubelluna hissed and thrust her staff forward, but Akeno was already firing again, and the staff went spinning out of her hands.

The next bolt hit her leg.

Then the arm.

Then the wing, and Yubelluna cried out as suddenly she was flightless, hurtling to the ground below.

Akeno rose higher into the sky, watching the dust cloud resulting from the impact with glittering, eager violet eyes, cheeks flushed from all the excitement.

Elegantly clad in her 'Priestess of Thunder' garb, a shrine maiden's outfit consisting of a white haori with red accents, red hakama, and a pair of bamboo zori with white tabi on her feet.

Currently, one of her sleeves was missing, burned away, but the skin underneath was only a little red.

But so what?

To only take one hit from a more experienced Queen, and to suffer such little damage?

Her training was paying off, such a shame Yuuji wasn't watching.

Yubelluna was losing because she had the same failing Akeno had worked hard to overcome.

Yubelluna wasn't a Queen, she was a fancy Bishop with extra stress and extra responsibilities.

Akeno was understandably surprised when the dust cleared and the enemy Queen rose into the air once more, wearing a smug, malicious smirk.

Not a single hair out of place.

As if to respond to her shock, Yubelluna teasingly dangled a small, empty red stopper in one hand.

"Ravel-sama was right, I did need the Phoenix Tears after all. You're stronger than expected, Priestess of Lightning. But I doubt you're strong enough for another round."

"Phoenix Tears… ara, I should have expected the Bomb Queen to have such a trick up her sleeve."

"I dislike that name… but no matter. You won't be saying anything at all in a moment."

Akeno hurled herself away as a tiny mote of flame hurtled towards her.

The resulting explosion was far larger than the earlier one, and she screamed in pain as she caught the edge of it, searing heat exposing most of the fabric from one leg, cracked, blackened flesh contrasting with the exposed white of her skin.

"My, how troublesome."

Akeno gave a pained smile as Yubelluna's smirk turned predatory.

* * *

"As the Knight of Riser Phoenix, I challenge Rias Gremory's Knight to a duel!"

At the declaration, Yuuji raised an eyebrow and looked at Kiba.

Kiba's apologetic smile told him all he needed to know.

"Good grief. I won't forgive you if you lose, but I don't mind entertaining the other two while you have your 'Knight moment'."

"It sounds silly when you say it that way, Yuuji-kun."

"Good."

"But thank you, you're a good guy after all."

"I don't want to hear it."

Kiba couldn't help but notice how unbothered his comrade seemed, despite his words.

The men of the Gremory peerage stepped onto the field, and the enemy Knight laughed happily.

"Haha I take it you accept then? Only a fool would do something like that, but I'm happy that such fools exist among the Gremory's. I am Karlamine, Knight of Riser Phoenix!"

The woman drew her sword and saluted as she spoke.

She was a young woman of above average height, with sandy brown hair and green eyes, with a white headband, and metal armor consisting of European style chestplate, gauntlets and greaves, while the plating protecting her shoulders and hips had a distinctly Japanese style.

Belted on her waist was a shortsword to match the broadsword she had drawn.

Kiba had a fearless, eager grin as he stepped onto the basketball field and offered a bow.

"I, Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Rias Gremory will be your opponent."

He casually dropped into his stance, with his favored longsword at the ready.

No more words were spoken, sparks flying as the gap between them vanished.

"Now, while they're having their fun, I don't exactly trust you two to sit pretty. So I guess I'll keep you occupied while those two bang away at each other."

Yuuji blankly stood between the fighting Knights and the enemy Rook and Bishop.

"As if one such as I would interfere in an honorable duel!"

The Bishop, a young blonde with drills in her blonde hair and an inappropriately classy pink dress, levelled a haughty glare at the black-haired boy.

It only seemed to incense her further when Yuuji unsuccessfully stifled a yawn.

"Geez, those two are nothing but 'swords, swords, swords', while I have to listen to a foul mouthed Pawn! Karmaline better win this, she was angry about the Pawns being sacrificed so I expect her to work hard for her Master!"

Yuuji didn't even make a half-hearted effort to suppress his yawn this time.

Meanwhile, the tall woman at Ravel's side simply chuckled and stepped forward, shaking her head.

"This is good for me though, Ravel-sama. I was hoping to get a crack at Rias Gremory's Pawn after his stunt in the clubroom. He's the Gremory who interests me the most."

The woman speaking had brown hair with red highlights, and a white mask covering the right side of her face.

A leather jacket reminiscent of a biker, albeit one that exposed her well-endowed chest, and was cut off to expose most of her midriff.

Her tight blue jeans had a section of the thigh cut off on one end, and she was wearing heavy riding boots and thick leather gloves.

"Isabela, Rook. Mind keeping me company?"

"Kazami Yuuji, Pawn. I don't mind fighting both of you."

"Haha, no, Riser would be angry if I let his precious sister fight. Ravel-sama is just observing."

"That's surprising, he didn't come across as the compassionate type."

"You're not wrong, but Riser is quite different in private. Being a servant is much simpler, but you should have seen him falling over himself to make it up to Mira after he called her 'useless'."

As she spoke, Isabella had closed the distance, flicking sharp jabs at Yuuji's head.

"You're awfully talkative… not sure what this 'Mira' has to do with anything."

Yuuji ducked and weaved, nonchalant.

Isabella blinked in surprise, pausing her assault before narrowing her eyes searchingly.

"You… don't remember her at all, do you? No surprise there, that poor girls a bit too timid to go toe-to-toe with a beast like you. Enough chatting, let's see what's hiding underneath that mask of yours."

Isabela resumed her attack, tearing through the air with a flurry of sharp kicks.

"A bit ironic coming from you, don't you think?"

Meanwhile, Kiba was trading blows with the enemy Knight at a speed the average Devil couldn't even follow, racing around the field.

Flames screamed through the air as Karlamine's sword burst into flames, the suddenly red-hot blade shearing through Kiba's plain longsword.

"A pity there's more to my Sacred gear than simple metal."

Kiba shrugged.

"What nonsense. Knight of Rias Gremory, speaking in riddles is ill-fitting of a Knight."

"Freeze and shatter, this is my Flame Delete!"

Kiba flicked out his hand and the temperature in the field plummeted.

The sword in his hand was bladeless, but icy mist billowed off of it.

In seconds, a blade of ice had formed.

"Fire is meaningless before this sword. I'll be burying that flame of yours."

"A-another sword!? Don't tell me you have two-"

She was cut off as Kiba lashed out, once twice, each time he struck the flames of the woman's sword froze solid.

One more hit, and the flames shattered, along with the blade beneath.

Undeterred, Karlamine flung the useless hilt to the side and pulled out her shortsword.

Immediately, hot winds raged across the field, staggering everyone as Kiba's ice began to melt and lose its shape.

"Dammit Karlamine, forgetting your surroundings already!?"

Isabela covered her face with one arm.

"No, I think the one forgetting is _you_."

Face inches from hers, cold black eyes bored into hers as Yuuji struck for the first time, burying his palm into the Rook's gut, angling upwards to give the nauseating feeling of her stomach trying to force its way past her diaphragm.

Gagging from the blow, Isabela was helpless as Yuuji dropped low and kicked sharply upwards, slamming his heel into her chin with a sharp crack.

Launched airborne, Isabela hit the ground almost headfirst.

Not enough to incapacitate the powerful Rook, but enough to leave her defenseless for what came next.

"...Hang on, I've got to take this."

A baffled Phoenix watched the Pawn of Rias Gremory take a step back and place a finger to his ear, staring off into the sky, towards his own base.

* * *

Hard to imagine that a moment ago she'd been proud of her accomplishments against the enemy Queen, as Akeno's shield cracked from yet another explosion.

Gasping raggedly, Akeno folded her wings in the air as the next attack broke her shield, feeling the burning heat on her back but just barely plummeting to safety.

... She was running on fumes.

Honestly, if she hadn't wounded the Bomb Queen's pride a little in their first bout, Akeno would likely already be eliminated.

Considering her tendencies, it was a little ironic that she was only still in the fight because she was being _toyed_ with.

As she was hurtled through the air by another near miss from her laughing attacker, Himejima Akeno heard a cool, dispassionate voice in her ear.

 _["Akeno."]_

"Yuuji-kun!?"

 _["Don't get too banged up before our first date."]_

Her world ground to a halt as a single word seemed to echo through the air.

Mistaking the pause for surrender, Yubelluna struck with a massive detonation.

Missing the flash of golden light that greeted it, it was her turn to peer through the cloud of smoke.

For a few seconds, nothing emerged but giddy laughter.

And then, something sliced through the smoke and slammed into her, sending Yubelluna tumbling through the air.

A soft body pressed into her back, as long legs wrapped around her waist….

-And soft arms coiled themselves around her neck.

A breathy whisper, flush with excitement in her ear, as her hands scrabbled at the sudden hold.

"Ufufu sorry, Yubelluna-san~. But when her man talks like that, a girl can't help but get serious~."

A playful nibble on her ear made Riser's Queen jerk in surprise, loosening her grip.

Slender arms tightened with all the power of a Rook.

[Riser's Queen retired.]

* * *

Karlamine's shock at Yubelluna's defeat was swiftly replaced by anger at her opponent's hearty laughter that cut through the howling winds of her blade.

"Laughing at the defeat of other's is unbecoming of a Knight. I will answer this insult with the winds and fury of the Phoenix!"

Unable to help himself, Kiba rolled his eyes, the smile never quite having left his face.

Bringing her weapon down, the brunette directed a scorching whirlwind at the enemy Knight, intent on sweeping him from the field.

The winds vanished with nary a whisper.

In Kiba's hand was a bizarre looking sword of which the 'blade' was two metal tines angled away from each other, between which floated a rotating dark orb.

"'Replenish Calm'. It's been a long time since I've needed two demonic swords in a single fight."

"How many swords do you have!?"

"As many as I need. My Sacred Gear is limited only by my imagination."

Kiba broke into a grin.

"Yuuji-kun!"

The man in question was fighting once more, the Rook he was fighting having recovered from his earlier attacks.

"Yeah, Kiba?"

"You know we're on an open channel, right?"

"I do."

"And you know our transmissions are being broadcasted, right?"

"Sure do."

Kiba's cheerful laughter echoed above the sounds of battle.

* * *

"He'll be in real trouble if he doesn't follow through."

A crimson haired man slipped into the announcer's room, chuckling softly.

Grayfia raised an eyebrow in response.

"His efforts seemed to work though, Akeno-san's power had a remarkable spike corresponding with his words."

The man nodded.

"So is that him?"

"Yes, Sirzechs-sama. That is Rias-sama's new Pawn, Kazami Yuuji."

"That's not what I meant, _Fia_."

She stiffened at the nickname.

"I meant, is that the boy who caught your interest?"

Sirzechs mild inquiry was met with a frigid glare.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're implying."

The man wasn't deterred at all.

"And I'm not sure you're aware there are screens without him on it."

Sirzechs smile turned teasing as the silver-haired maid colored slightly.

Before she could reply, Sirzechs was back at the door, but this time his tone was serious.

"When was the last time a man caught your eye? If you're even a little interested, Fia, don't wait. You owe yourself that much."

The door swung shut, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

* * *

"I can't believe Yubelluna lost, even with the Phoenix Tears! What kind of monster do you have for a Queen, Gremory!? Isabela stop messing around and finish him!"

"Easier said than done, Ravel-sama!"

As she spoke, the tall Rook jerked away from an open palm that lashed upwards, aiming for the underside of her nose.

"Shit, I was wrong to think you're a fist-fighter like me."

"Oh?"

The impassive reply as her opponent slipped away from her return punch.

"You're not a brawler, someone just taught you to kill barehanded. Man, are all the Gremory's like this?"

Isabela stepped into his guard with a pair of flicking jabs, one of which grazed his cheek.

He took the hit without complaint, sinking a fist into her side.

The tough Rook took the hit, spinning to lash out with her knee from the side.

Yuuji hopped out of reach. He'd kept it under wraps so far, but his hands were getting numb.

No girl would want to hear that, but punching the enemy Rook was only a little better than using his bare hands on concrete.

Meanwhile, with her trump cards countered by her opponents Sacred Gear, Karlamine was back to conventional steel.

Kiba had changed to match, but there was nothing 'conventional' about his sword play style at all.

"Sorry Karlamine-san. I've taken long enough for my selfishness, so it's time to wrap things up."

"Don't get cocky- gah!?"

As she ducked under the blade swinging for her neck, Karlamine failed to notice the significance of his heavy forward step.

Where Kiba stamped on the ground, a blade sprung up before his shoe, spearing Karlamine through the shoulder.

She staggered back, bleeding freely, as Kiba pressed her with a flurry of slashes, giving ground steadily as she parried the attacks.

Suddenly, her retreat came to an abrupt halt as she bumped into cold metal at her back.

A moment of hesitation, as she turned her head to see the massive blade obstructing her.

A moment too long.

Kiba flicked the blood off his blade and raised it in salute.

"It was an honor, Karlamine-san."

His opponent could only gurgle and clutch at her throat.

[Riser's Knight retired.]

"Sorry, but if Kiba's done indulging I have other things to take care of."

"Tough talk, you really think it'll be that easy?"

Isabela was bluffing.

She had no idea a Pawn could hit that hard without Promoting.

Each strike carried a sharp, clinical cruelty with it, as if he wasn't so much trying to strike her, so much as dissect her with nothing but his bare hands.

Victory wasn't quite out of reach, though, not yet.

Even an immortal like Riser acknowledged her toughness.

She could take a few more hits.

So she was caught off-guard when the Pawn's reply came with a raised voice, and the Gremory Knight gave a sympathetic flinch.

"You're right Isabela. I've been wasting time. Sorry."

His words were accompanied by a sharp blossom of pain, as the arm she had just jabbed with dropped limp.

The bloody knife in his hands answered her desperate follow-up with dreadful speed, and suddenly she was deprived the use of both arms.

She collapsed, helpless, as flickering iron coldly dismantled her limb by limb.

Before he could finish her off, a gout of flame howled through the air where he'd been standing a moment ago.

"Get away from her you animal!"

"Ravel-sama no! Get away from him, he's not someone you can fight!"

Biting her lip in frustration, Ravel took to the air on wings of fire, as the remainder of the Phoenix peerage entered the field.

"What are you all doing here!?"

A pale Japanese woman with long black hair and a silked blue kimono called out.

"Riser-sama is challenging Rias-sama directly! He's decided to cut things off before any more of us get hurt."

"Stupid Onii-sama! There's no need for him to come out! Get them off Isabela so I can-"

A sharp crack cut off her words.

Blatantly ignoring the newcomers, the Pawn of Rias Gremory stood with a smoking gun in his hands.

[Riser's Rook retired.]

"Grr... _you_! Ni! Li! You and I are taking that Pawn down! Siris, Mihae! Deal with the Knight!"

 ** _"As if I'd let you."_**

The two remaining Pawns, Nekomata twins in sailor outfits, matching cat ears and tails, were driven back yelping as blades erupted from the ground in a pair of vicious spiked walls. Standing in the gap between them like a grim sentinel, the Gremory Knight stood alone.

"Yuuji-kun, get to Buchou. She's going to need help with Riser-san, and Akeno-san is probably still worn out from her earlier fight."

"Sure you can hold?"

Kiba raised one hand in a thumbs up, mouth set in a grim line.

"I'm going to need you to do 'that' though, I think."

"... Can we not?"

"You just don't want to say the words."

"... That just makes me normal."

"Don't make Buchou sad now, Yuuji-kun."

Yuuji just clicked his tongue, and began hurling metal cylinders in every direction.

As the smoke grenades exploded and engulfed everything in smoke, Kiba stood at its center alone, listening with a wry smile as Yuuji's exasperated voice rang out over the surprised shrieks of the women, reciting the (grudgingly) rehearsed line.

"Vanish and be lost forever, enemies of the Gremory... **_Knight Of The Mist_**."

Straining his senses to the limit, Kiba danced through the smoke, confident Yuuji was already on his way to where he was needed the most.

* * *

Asia just managed to catch Akeno as she collapsed backwards, eyes rolling back in her skull, sweating and panting heavily.

She'd used the last of her power to block the twin arcs of flame that had roared from Riser Phoenix's wings.

He'd lived up to his namesake, quickly turning the rooftop of the old school building into a sweltering hellscape of flame and smoke.

Asia had healed Akeno's injuries, but she could do nothing to replenish lost stamina.

And after fighting the enemy Queen not once but twice, Akeno had nothing left.

Rias met her Queen's eyes with a gentle smile.

"You've done enough, Akeno, thank you for your hard work."

Akeno's protest was cut off by an outstretched hand.

[Rias's Queen, forcefully retired.]

This wasn't looking good.

She'd accounted for the possibility of pushing Riser far enough that he'd intervene directly, but actually dealing with it was another thing.

He'd freely congratulated her ingenuity when her Power of Destruction clung, burning, to him, but he'd still overpowered it with the Flames of a Phoenix, and the damage healed the instant he was free.

To add insult to injury, the magic of the Phoenix's regeneration even extended to his appearance, so even though she'd burned off half his skull at one point, Riser had not a hair out of place, and could have walked into any high class gathering without even a second to prepare.

Meanwhile, Rias was covered in soot and practically naked, Asia struggling just to keep up with her rapidly growing injuries.

Even with the resistances of a Devil, their vision was starting to waver as the flames grew higher and the sweltering heat rose.

"Give it up, Rias. Your poor little Bishop is struggling to breath, and she's the only reason you're still standing. Resign, and we can end this. You did better than anyone could have guessed, but this is as far as you go."

Rias bit her lip, silencing her reply as she glanced to the side.

Asia's expression was set with conviction, but her eyes were unfocused and she couldn't seem to center her gaze.

"I'm fine, Buchou… I won't… give up."

"Asia..."

Sadly, Rias ignored her protests and raised a hand once more.

She had no intention of giving up, but she couldn't bear to let her precious family suffer any more.

A cool voice sliced through the roaring flames.

 _["Before you do that, get off the roof and make the biggest shield you can."]_

"Y-Yuuji!? Where are you!?"

"Let's do it, Buchou!"

For a moment, Asia's eyes were clear and bright as she clenched her fists in front of her.

Pouring her power forward, a circle of Gremory drew itself in the air in her warm green light.

Scooping Asia up under one arm and extending her wings, Rias flapped once before overlaying a crimson shield of her own, a mighty wall standing between them and the Phoenix.

Something shrieked from the side, dull metal trailing smoke.

As if to challenge the fires of the Phoenix, the rooftop beneath Riser's feet was ripped asunder in a roar of flame.

* * *

From his position on the ground, he let the now empty weapon fall from his shoulder with a heavy thud.

Reaching into his pocket, he drew a pair of slender needles forth and slammed them into the side of his neck with a hiss.

The needles were tossed carelessly aside into the bushes.

Running at full speed while the substance took effect, listening to the soft inquiry reverberating through his skull.

 _'Say, Yuuji?'_

 ** _'...Which hand do you use to kill a man?'_**

* * *

That was unexpected. He laid on the warm wooden floor, looking upwards to where the sky should be.

There was nothing but fire and smoke.

As he waited for his legs to finish rebuilding themselves, Riser idly wondered what trick Rias had pulled.

He wasn't really concerned, but this whole business had still put a sour taste in his mouth.

The Gremory's had fought well, considering it had never been meant to _be_ a fight.

Once his initial anger had faded, Riser had been disgusted to know that the powers that be intended to make a fledgling King like Rias go through something like this.

Even if he agreed with the importance the marriage had for the Underworld, was such cruelty necessary?

Ah, his legs had finished growing.

Riser rose to his feet, brushing off his still pristine suit out of habit.

It was still hard to see with all the smoke, but from his estimation he was probably on the first floor of the old school building.

That had been quite a hit.

Upwards, or simply blast his way out the side?

Choices, choices.

He…

 ** _Wasn't alone._**

Something stalked him through the flames.

Something horrid prowled just out of sight, just out of reach.

It didn't matter... no one could handle the exposure for long, whereas Riser wasn't feeling the heat at all.

Time was on his side, but he'd do them the courtesy of taking things seriously.

Riser didn't even realize that he was just trying to forced down fear... with arrogance.

A clatter off to the left drew his eyes as something collapsed, and in that second something burst from the smoke on the opposite side.

Whatever struck him across the face was a poor weapon, shattering after one strike.

Filling his eyes with shards of glass, as the broken, dull grey wine bottle was tossed aside.

The glass in his eyes promptly began to bubble and melt from the heat of the Phoenix's flames.

He howled in agony, clutching at his eyes.

The heat rose, flames surging wildly in response to his anguish.

Helpless, his legs were kicked out from behind, forcing him to his knees.

Fingers dug cruelly into his weeping eye socket, jerking his head back as he screamed and thrashed.

The crackling of flame seemed to dull, as a relaxed, almost conversational voice cut through his pained cries like winds of ice.

"I'm told the Phoenix is immortal."

The second bottle was open.

The contents, poured hissing and bubbling down Riser's open throat.

 **" _Sucks to be you."_**

* * *

Rias had just staggered to her feet, biting her lip in worry as the announcement brought the heavy news that Yuuto, along with Riser's final Knight and his last two Pawns, had been retired.

Her darling Knight must have been so brave.

Now, Riser had only his two Bishops, and Rias had only-

[Checkmate.]

Rias froze in disbelief.

[Riser Phoenix has been retired from the Rating Game. Victory goes to Rias Gremory.]

He'd done it.

He'd done it.

He-

Hadn't come out of the building.

"Yuuji! Yuuji where are you!? Answer me, _please_!"

Her voice frantic, Rias rushed forward, ignoring the protests of her screaming legs.

Wreathed in ash and smoke a dark figure staggered out the front of the building as Rias halted in her tracks.

Shambling towards her and shedding dark flecks of ash like some half-burnt ghoul, the figure turned its head slowly, peering forward.

Reaching up one heavily scorched limb, it clumsily rubbed the appendage across its face, and a large, dark mass cracked and fell away, exposing a weeping, black eye open wide and framed with raw, red flesh.

Rias covered her mouth with her hands in growing horror.

"B...Buchou?... That...you? Can't... see... very..."

The figure fell on its face with a horrific, crackling crunch.

Rias screamed.

* * *

An endless sea of white.

 **Blink**

A single drop of black.

 **Blink**

A woman.

 **Blink**

With hair as black as a raven's wing.

Blink.

"A...keno?"

Sudden, frantic motion.

"Yuuji!? Yuuji you're awake!? Rias he's awake!"

A sudden splash of red across the white.

 ** _Pain._**

 _Unbelievable pain._

 _His skin was knives._

 _The breath in his lungs, broken glass._

A long, uncharacteristically high-pitch whine snapped the room into focus.

The girls who had just hugged him leapt back as if struck, stammering apologies.

Rias and Akeno, looking incredibly guilty.

Seems the noise had come from his throat.

Roused by the noise, a blonde head and sleepy green eyes rose from the bed, fluttering away the sleep.

The room exploded into brightness as she smiled.

"Yuuji-san! You're awake! Thank God- eep!"

The spike of pain was smaller this time, but shared by everyone in the room.

Old habits died hard.

"So… noisy…."

Yuuji rasped out.

"Oh? Yuuji-kun's feeling a little tender, is he?"

The sickly sweetness held a dangerous edge for the briefest instant, before Akeno's head ducked away in guilt.

"I'm sorry for hugging you, Yuuji-kun. I was just a little excited."

That was fine, there were more important things to worry about, weren't there?

Weren't there?

Why the hell was he in a hospital bed?

He hated hospitals.

Why was he even-

Oh, right.

"Did we win?"

The three girls flinched in surprise.

Rias, the only person in the room currently standing, paled and bit her lip, but her shaky smile and glistening eyes told him all he needed to know.

... So he didn't quite understand why he held his breath, all the better to hear her words.

"Yes Yuuji, we won. Thank you… thank you so much."

Silvery trails traced their way down her face, but with the smile on her face, even that was beautiful.

Of course... Yuuji had no idea she was repeating herself.

* * *

 _The boy on the bed thrashed wildly, howling in agony._

 _Blackened and burned, nothing but cracked skin and weeping red flesh where the ash had fallen away._

 _Struggling figures in white trying to restrain the wounded beast with gloved hands and wildly flaring crests of magic._

 _They hadn't been able to afford to tying him down, or there might have been permanent damage._

 _The boy was one big burn scar._

 _This was far beyond what they'd prepared for an unofficial Rating Game._

 _The struggles and the howling continued, until a flash of silver swept into the room, accompanied by a bolt of crimson._

 _For a brief instant the struggles ceased, and in that instant, a flash of pale blue light snared him in place._

" _Rias-sama, this is your chance. The words of his master are the only thing he'll hear."_

 _The crimson passed the silver. A cool hand was placed gently on a scorched, broken cheek._

" _That's enough Yuuji. You did it… we won. Rest for now."_

 _A spark of recognition, before the figure on the bed slumped, like a puppet with its strings cut._

 _The crimson figure let out a ragged breath she didn't realize she'd been holding._

* * *

Yuuji stared up at the ceiling.

"I see. That's good."

No one said anything for a moment.

The silence was foreboding.

"How bad is it? I seem to only have one eye open."

"You'll be fine, Yuuji. Just incredibly tender for a while. Asia healed you as much as she could, and then they used Phoenix Tears, which can fix just about anything that's not already dead. The pain you're feeling is because they had to cut your uniform off of you before they could administer the Tears, which also meant they had to cut off most of your skin. You're probably just a little sore from having a large portion of your nerves _rebuilt_."

"And my eye?"

"You accidentally scratched it when you came out of the building. It's uninjured, but it's going to be sensitive to light for a little while."

"Guess I was pretty lucky then."

"Yes, you were."

There were three sets of eyes narrowed at him, as he suddenly realized how frigid Rias' voice sounded. Even as it trembled slightly.

What did he say?

"What the hell were you thinking Yuuji!? Military-grade painkillers!? Where did you even get those!? You should have been retired from the Game! Your entire body was a third degree burn you could have died!"

The yelling hurt, in more ways than one.

If he got past the noise, what really hurt was the fear and worry in her voice.

The concern etched across her face, and across Akeno's, and across Asia's.

When was the last time anyone had looked at him that way?

After all, that's why he'd done it.

His sole reason for fighting was for the faces that could look at Kazami Yuuji like that.

Nothing more, because-

"No one's ever asked me that."

The quiet admittance erased the tension from the room in an instant, memories drifting slowly back to the forefront.

" _No one has ever asked to be saved by someone like me."_

" _I made a promise."_

" _Let me help you."_

" _I mean, that's what you asked me to do… isn't it?"_

" _As many times as you need."_

As the girls went silent, Yuuji slowly regarded the ceiling, not quite ready for eye contact just yet.

"I really am sorry."

Silence was the only thing to greet his voice.

* * *

"That killed my concerns rather completely."

"..."

"Dangerous, cruel in the extreme when he thinks it necessary. That isn't something that should be normal for his age, it almost reminds me of..."

"..."

"... No, in the end I think the only thing that matters, is that he did it all because someone _asked_ him for help. While his reasons are perhaps a bit tragic, at the same time it's reassuring to have someone like that at my sister's side."

"..."

"And I can think I can see why you're so interested in him, _Fia_."

… No reaction, even from the nickname?

She always scolded him when he used that nickname in public... his Queen was in a world all her own.

Well, it wasn't hard to guess what she was thinking of.

Or at least, _who_ she was thinking of.

" _Oh? What is it you wish to speak of, Kazami-sama? Speak quickly, please."_

" _Yuuji is fine, Grayfia-san. I'd like to know who my King is being forced to marry."_

 _Grayfia blinked in surprise._

 _While she understood well enough what Rias had been attempting to do with this boy, she didn't expect that Rias had actually shared the details behind her circumstances._

" _What has she told you so far?"_

" _Nothing, but the number of commitments a young high-class lady can avoid by giving up her virginity are few and far between."_

 _... Sharp boy._

" _You would have found out soon enough I suppose, so there is little harm in confirming. Rias-sama is set to be wed with Riser Phoenix, third son of the House of Phoenix."_

" _Actually, I asked the wrong question. Do her parents not love her as much as you do?"_

" _Excuse me?"_

 _T_ _he air turned dangerous as a pair of red eyes narrowed into slits._

" _It's not hard to see how much you care. When I was ready to fight you, it wasn't your own safety you were worried for."_

 _Kazami Yuuji seemed unconcerned, face a blank slate._

" _You're well aware that wasn't what I was asking."_

" _Then I'll rephrase. Do Buchou's parents not love her, or have they just never talked to her about the marriage, even once?"_

 _Deep breaths Grayfia._

 _Rias cherishes_ _ **all**_ _her servants, even the insufferably rude ones._

" _The love Lord and Lady Gremory hold for Rias-sama is beyond question."_

" _So why is the marriage happening?"_

" _The mother and father of Rias-sama must consider not only her future, but the future of the House of Gremory and the future of the Underworld itself."_

" _Cut the bullshit, Grayfia. Our masters aren't here."_

 _He curled his lips in contempt._

" _There is a limit to how rude one can be, Kazami-sama. Even if 'our masters aren't here'."_

" _You really don't get it, do you?"_

" _I'll borrow your words once more;_ _ **Cut the bullshit, Yuuji-san.**_ "

" _I don't know what kind of guy this Riser is, but if they marry and he tries to push even a little, you'll find Rias dangling from the chandelier within the day."_

 _This time, the sudden drop of temperature had nothing to do with her._

 _He'd spoken so casually, as if it was almost too redundant to even mention it at all._

 _Those black eyes weren't sympathetic in the least._

" _That's- there's no chance… It can't be that bad, can it?"_

 _Grayfia trailed off, hating how weak and fragile her voice sounded._

" _Rias is_ _ **terrified**_ _, Grayfia. She's also a hormonal, desperate teenager from a species whose culture glorifies wanton desire and a lack of impulse control. Go ahead, push her and see what happens."_

 _No, there was no chance it had gone so... Rias had her misgivings but it wasn't that bad... was it?_

 _No, it couldn't be._

 _As if he had been patiently waiting for her to deny his words, the next words out of Yuuji's mouth severed those thin threads of hope in an instant._

" _Of course, it's not like she's the joint governor for an entire city as a teenager_ _because she wants to prove that she's an_ _ **adult**_ _. The idea that proving her independence will solve her problems is exactly the sort of idea a desperate teenager would latch onto."_

 _A wave of nausea hit her like a hammer, and with a grimace, Grayfia forced herself to consider a reality that should never have existed._

 _Originally, Rias was meant to have an older servant of the family overseeing her tenure._

 _Despite her duties as Head Maid, Grayfia was at the top of the list for potential advisers... a task she would have not only welcomed, but she had been certain Rias would have leapt at as well, if only for the reason that it allowed them to spend more time together._

 _She'd been taken completely aback (and perhaps a bit hurt) by Rias' adamant refusal... and thus, it seemed, she'd completely failed to pinpoint the reason **why.**_

 _Grayfia Lucifuge had never failed so spectacularly._

" _But that's not really important."_

 _Not important?_

 _Not important!?_

" _What I really want to know, is if there's any way out. Anything at all."_

 _Grayfia's surprised silence told him all he needed to know._

" _We've been speaking frankly so far, seems silly to stop now."_

 _His voice was calm once more._

 _It scraped along her senses like a sharpened blade._

" _A Rating Game."_

 _A dull, muted response._

 _She was hardly even listening._

 _It couldn't be that bad... there was no way it was that bad._

 _How could she have not noticed?_

 _How could she have let Rias down in such a monumental fashion?_

" _You mean those duels between Households?"_

 _Grayfia gave a curt nod, h_ _er response mechanical, reciting a pre-recorded line like a machine._

" _In the event that one party wishes to annul the arrangement and it can not be agreed upon, they may challenge the other party to a Rating Game. However, the other party is in no way required to participate."_

 _The professional demeanor she sought refuge behind was shattered in an instant._

 _For whatever response she expected, Kazami Yuuji shaking one of her hands with both of his and offering her a relieved, grateful smile was not one of them._

" _Really? It's that easy? Thanks Grayfia, you're the best."_

" _I- wha- d-did you not listen? He has no reason to accept! L-let me go!"_

 _Her composure was being ruthlessly tread upon with each shake of his hand._

 _Yuuji released her almost absent-mindedly, waving his hands as if to brush away unnecessary details._

 _He regarded her with a raised eyebrow._

" _Grayfia, you basically just told me that my first step should be to_ _ **antagonize**_ _someone."_

 _The woman stared at him for a moment, dumbstruck._

 _The brief silence slowly gave way to something unbelievable._

 _Grayfia Lucifuge had begun to giggle._

 _Grayfia Lucifuge had begun to…_

 _The laughter abruptly died, smothered behind a cold stare that promised pain._

" _Grayfia, are you alright? Your face seems kind of red."_

" _You will speak of this to no one."_

 _Red eyes pierced into dull black._

 _Kazami Yuuji slowly raised his eyebrow once more._

 _Suddenly, his gaze seemed hard to meet._

" _Sorry, sorry, I guess I've teased you enough."_

 _Kazami Yuuji said, without a shred of shame._

 _"Now… how to proceed… oh, Grayfia? You wouldn't happen to have a picture of the fiancee handy, would you? I'd like to see who I'm working with."_

 _Grayfia blinked at the request, but nonetheless stuck her hand into a small magic crest that appeared into the air and drew forth a photo, handing it to the dark-haired boy without a word._

 _She was in no way grateful for the change in topic._

 _...She was glad Sirzechs wasn't here._

 _With a nod of thanks, Yuuji took the picture…_

… _ **.Nauseating, suffocating hatred.**_

 _ **Sharp exhales through clenched teeth beat a maddening rhythm.**_

 _ **HIM.**_

 _ **It's him it's him it's him it's him its-**_

" _Grayfia."_

 _The tension in the room vanished without warning, as if mocking the ice down her spine._

" _Y-Yuuji-san?"_

" _You don't have to worry about Rias anymore."_

" _What are you- how do you know Riser?"_

 _What has he done to you?_

 _What could he have possibly done to encourage-_

" _I don't. He just reminds me of someone I used to know."_

 _Kazami Yuuji offered a reassuring smile, as if to put her at ease._

 _The smile meant less than nothing._

 _Those once dull black orbs were alight with eager, dreadful malice._

" _Grayfia, Rias isn't marrying Riser Phoenix."_

 _ **"Even if I have to kill him first."**_

She had been in correspondence with Kazami Yuuji over the ten day period leading up to the game, offering what information she could reasonably share.

Mostly, she'd provided reading material and instructions on the rules of the Rating Games.

For the time being, she had brushed aside her deep-seated unease at how interested he was in the _rules of engagement_.

True, her intention had been not to interfere with the young lady unless asked, but her loyal servants making requests on her behalf was an admittedly welcome loophole to her self-made promise.

Grayfia Lucifuge wanted Rias Gremory to be happy, after all.

If it wouldn't have caused an irreparable amount of trouble for someone in her position to intervene, or trampled all over the young lady's resolve, she would have cheerfully fought Riser and his entire peerage as a proxy on her _own_.

... In the long run, that perhaps would have been kinder on her heart.

Of course, Sirzechs had full knowledge of, and had given his blessings, to the secret talks.

She wasn't the only one struggling not to _personally_ intervene.

Speaking of which, where had he run off to?

They were supposed to be congratulating-

A set of fingers snapped in front of her nose.

"While I'm dying to know what has you so wrapped up in your own little world, shouldn't we be offering congratulations right about now? Seems Kazami-kun finally woken up."

Grayfia blinked and coughed, and Sirzechs knowing grin was met by piercing red eyes.

They stepped into the room without another word.

* * *

The man who stepped into the room had familiar crimson hair and familiar blue eyes.

Rias answered Yuuji's question before he could even ask.

"O-Onii-sama?"

A disarming, easy smile.

"Ah, hello Rias, the doctor informed me that your Pawn was awake? I wanted to take the chance to congratulate the man who defeated Riser Phoenix."

Noticing Akeno giving a slight bow (Asia following suit a moment later), Yuuji spoke up.

"Sirzechs Lucifer, correct? Excuse me for not lowering my head, but I can't actually move it that much."

The dry comment was met by a smooth chuckle as every woman in the room frowned at the patient.

"No, no, that's quite alright. I think you've earned a little leeway for saving my Ria-tan from her fate."

Slowly, painstakingly, Yuuji rotated his head to the crimson-haired, crimson-faced girl at his side.

"Ria-tan? I'm sorry for addressing you incorrectly all this time, Buchou. Please forgive your lowly servant."

A puff of steam escaped his masters ears as she stuttered.

Rias Gremory did not stamp her foot with a pout.

Rias Gremory was a proper lady.

"Don't you dare Yuuji- Onii-sama you're- Akeno stop laughing at me!"

"Fufu yes, Buchou~."

"Hahaha, well that's all I wanted to say for now, I'll be taking my leave. I look forward to meeting you when I can actually shake your hand."

Chuckling still, the Satan turned to the door, Grayfia giving a polite bow (and meeting Yuuji's eyes briefly) before leaving as well.

Sirzechs pause at the door.

"Rias."

The girl jerked at being addressed.

"His hand isn't going to get better without help. The magic from his Sacred Gear is going to need to be removed periodically, or he'll lose the use of his hand."

"Yuuji-kun?"

That sly, crimson haired bastard was planning something.

Not even Asia's smile was _that_ innocent.

"Don't suppose you know any pretty girls, well-versed in the mystic arts by chance?"

He left before Yuuji could respond.

Turning back to the girls left in the room…

Why was everyone blushing?

Why did Akeno look so excited?

Wait, what was that about his hand?

* * *

Kiba and Koneko returned shortly after, having gone to grab food for those watching over Yuuji.

"You gave us quite the scare, Yuuji-kun."

"You had us worried, Yuuji-senpai."

"Sorry for worrying everyone. Speaking of which, Rias, when can I leave?"

"You're not going anywhere until morning, mister."

Rias gave him a stern glare.

"Fine."

"Don't you pout at me young man."

"Ara, don't worry Yuuji-kun. I'll stay with you aaaall night so you don't get lonely."

"... I need an adult."

"Ufufu~."

"There's enough beds for everyone here, so we'll be sleeping over. Come on everyone, let's get our things. Akeno, you too."

Everyone began to slowly file out.

"Yes, Buchou."

As she spoke, Akeno put her hands on the bed and leaned down towards Yuuji to murmur softly in his ear.

"I'll be looking forward to our date, Yuuji-kun… Thank you so much for helping Rias."

She kissed him gently on the cheek, unheeding of the bandages, before straightening up and looking past him with an indulgent smile.

A second pair of soft lips pressed to his other cheek.

"Thank you again, Yuuji. Thank you so much."

Came the whisper, a slight catch in the voice.

Yuuji turned to meet the fondly smiling face of his master.

"Any time, Rias."

She followed Kiba and Koneko out of the room just as her face started to burn uncontrollably, leaving behind a small blonde who was busy squirming and fidgeting, shooting glances Yuuji's way.

Akeno caught her attention, and jerked her head slightly towards Yuuji with a welcoming smile.

Reddening further, Asia leaned quickly towards Yuuji…

And kissed him on the cheek as well, before rushing out of the room.

Yuuji's questioning gaze towards Akeno was met with a wink as she left the room with a spring in her step, laughing all the while.

Leaving Yuuji alone in the hospital room.

* * *

They had watched the recording.

As one of the involved Kings, Rias had full access to any footage of the Rating Game, regardless of whether or not it went public.

So she'd sat with Kiba and Akeno, and they'd watched.

They'd waited until Asia and Koneko were both asleep, unwilling to expose the two.

Yuuji was still unconscious at this point, but Asia was sleeping in a chair beside his bed, so at least he wasn't alone.

Honestly, Rias had wanted to watch it alone, but she was deeply, deeply grateful that the other two weren't willing to let her.

Hydrofluoric acid.

That was the name of the substance, the 'weapon' that Yuuji had poured down Riser's throat.

Stripping flesh from bone, if it didn't simply melt away layer after layer of skin, it would simply pass on through the soft tissue, consuming the bone beneath.

Agonizing death for human or Devil, the later species sturdier body likely only to prolong the torment.

An immortal like Riser, who could regenerate even the most gruesome of wounds?

Devoured from the inside out, over and over and over as his power sealed the acid within, his own gifts turned into a weapon against him.

Horrific enough on it's own, but even more heart-rending to watch what Yuuji had gone through to make it happen.

Whether from Riser's power, or from the fact that Yuuji had destroyed half of it with some sort of missile launcher (they'd ask when he was awake), the old school building had already been a sea of supernatural flame.

Even as he'd stalked Riser through the burning building, he'd burned.

Even as he'd chosen his moments and pounced, he'd burned.

The implications that his chosen weapon was a _wine bottle_ of all things shelved for the time being as Yuuji drove the now blind and writhing Phoenix to his knees.

The flames raged higher in response to Riser's agony, and he'd burned.

Face an impassive, cruel mask, Yuuji had materialized a second, dull grey bottle bottle, filled with something that hissed and spit like a living, hungry thing.

Forcing it down Riser's throat, unheeding of the desperate thrashing.

And then, it was the Phoenix that burned.

Even if they could no longer properly see his face, the viewers understood that Yuuji was, in all likelihood, mostly unconscious at this point.

Because as Riser retired from his grasp, Yuuji had just stood there, unmoving.

The two girls covering their mouths with their hands as they watched his skin blacken and crack.

He'd given a sudden jerk and stumbled off, and they'd realized that this was the point that somehow, he'd heard Rias calling frantically for him.

It was finally too much for the trio to realize that if he hadn't heard Rias, Yuuji probably wouldn't have moved at all.

... In hindsight, they were a little grateful that Yuuji didn't wake up until the following evening.

They weren't sure they could face him any earlier.

* * *

... Slowly, her heart had tried to tear itself in two.

One side, fluttering madly at the thought of one who'd leapt to her rescue, someone who cared less than nothing about her value to the Underworld.

The other side, dragging itself deeper and deeper into a mire of guilt.

She was supposed to be protecting him.

She was the one who gave him a new life, and had promised to make it all he could ever hope to be.

She had been the weak one, the one needing saving.

The so-called _King_ , who despite her best efforts, truly had proven to be the princess in the tower.

It was _her_ that needed him.

And now, she knew exactly how far Kazami Yuuji was willing to go.

He'd said it.

Not in so many words, but no one could miss the meaning behind it, even if they tried.

Kazami Yuuji's dearest wish was to be needed.

So when they gathered together in the hospital foyer after leaving him alone, for the first time since the Rating Game, the first place they'd gone had been his home.

The two Fallen Angels weren't entirely out of the loop, but it was important that they be there for this. They had the right.

Rias had said the words once before, but now they all shared that promise.

If that's what he wanted, they weren't going anywhere.

For as long as he needed them, they'd never let Kazami Yuuji be alone again.

They'd get stronger.

Strong enough that nothing could make him ever even _consider_ it necessary to go that far on their behalf again.

* * *

The morning after.

It was good to be home, even wrapped in bandages like he was.

Though a novel experience to be surrounded in it by people that cared, Kazami Yuuji still hated hospitals.

No amount of fond memories could quite erase the deep-seated unease those white-washed walls and chemical odors would bring.

The living room was quiet for a solid half second.

A dark shape screaming his name desperately hit him hard, bowling him off his feet.

Slowly, Yuuji lifted an arm and stroked the dark-haired head rubbing itself and sobbing against his chest, and met the gaze of the blue-haired woman standing some distance away, no less relieved, but just barely holding onto her restraint.

As if realizing what she was doing, Raynare leapt off of him in a flash, stammering apologies and waving her hands about.

Not realizing that that last movement was the straw that broke the camel's back.

For the second time in as many days, Kazami Yuuji's first response was an uncharacteristically high-pitched whine.

Attempts to help him to his feet were waved away as he took a deep breath.

They almost didn't hear him for how softly he had spoken, still lying on the floor.

"I kept my promise… I'm home."

And for a moment, that was all that mattered.

* * *

 **And done.**

 **Yuuji bears his fangs without restraint, and now Rias doesn't have to worry about marrying Riser, even if he's not nearly as bad as she think he is.**

 **...Yeah, Yuuji was kind of the villain there. An endless cycle of organ-melting is probably more traumatizing than getting your ass kicked by a fledgling dragon.**

 **There wasn't a good place to insert it, but the 'medics' actually just partially blew up Riser to clear out the acid from his guts.**

 **Another thing that Yuuji had no place to explain, the missile launcher he used to blow up the clubroom was the FIM-92 Stinger, which is also the first weapon he refers to in the story.**

 **The scene with Akeno being promised a date was inspired by the scene where Issei encourages her during the fight with Diodora, it was used earlier because her relationship with Yuuji is progressing a lot faster.**

 **Also, because it was one of my favorite scenes in canon, and I am not a patient man.**


	7. We Know What We Want

**I'd like to start this chapter by thanking you all for being beautiful people, I never imagined that the number of people interested enough to stick around would break into the triple digits.**

 **With that said, while I didn't have anything commemorative in mind, this chapter will contain the first lemon of the series. Possibly limes as well, but I haven't figured out the slang for that one.**

 **I debated quite a bit with myself as to whether I'd include lemons, but I kept coming back to the fact that in his own series, Yuuji has canonically banged the entire student body. Step up your game Issei, Yuuji only had a trilogy and some extras.**

* * *

This was possibly the best after school activity ever.

A step or two above even hunting Stray Devils, and would likely remain on top until the weekend.

Woman's intuition told her that her first date would easily take the title, and remain unchallenged until Yuuji and her _deepened_ their relationship further.

She suppressed a shudder that had nothing to do with her current activity.

What was the activity she, Himejima Akeno was currently occupied with?

Currently, she was on her knees in the clubroom, in front of the couch where her boyfriend, Kazami Yuuji was sitting.

... Sucking on and swirling her tongue around his finger in her mouth.

Of course, this had a purpose beyond sexy fun with her boyfriend.

Best. Ritual. Ever.

* * *

He wasn't entirely certain, but Akeno might be having too much fun with this.

They'd probably need to try it a few more times for him to be sure.

Three times in as many days was far from an adequate basis for any credible thesis.

After the events of the Rating Game, it had been revealed during the medical examination that extended use of the Arsenal caused the 'slight chill' he was used to turn to what was essentially 'premature rigor mortis'.

His hands weren't just stiffening and going numb, the energy of his Sacred Gear was interfering with blood flow to his hands to the point where necrosis was a very real concern.

And now that he'd used it enough to 'break the dam' so to speak, a low amount of power from his Arsenal leaked out into his right hand on a constant basis.

The treatment?

Well, Akeno sucking on his finger had more purpose than sexy fun times.

The thin, mostly see-through white robe that barely covered her legs and only sort of covered her bust, the same robe that was even more see-through because she'd just gotten out of the shower?

Or the heavy lidded, seductive gaze that never left his, the muffled, mildly obscene moans, and the occasional slurp?

That was probably all Akeno.

She'd been alternating with Rias, but she seemed to be getting a little more excited each time she did the ritual, which was getting hard to ignore.

He was a guy after all.

Luckily, the date was soon, so maybe she'd calm down a bit once their relationship had advanced in a more concrete fashion.

He expected she was feeling just a little bit threatened by certain developments.

For reasons he had yet to understand, Rias had become a lot more… _forward_ after the Rating Game.

… No, that was wrong.

Yuuji understood exactly why Rias had become more affectionate as of late.

While the irony of him being the one to fill that role made him choke a little, he'd essentially been the knight in shining armor to her princess, and swooped in to save her when she was in need.

For lack of a better idea, however, he'd have to pretend not to notice for now.

With any luck, once she was less starry-eyed it would fade to simple gratitude.

It wasn't unheard of for a rescued girl to have a bit of a crush on their 'hero'.

In the end, he hadn't really done anything more than his duty as a Pawn.

While he could _understand_ it, the level of gratitude still made him feel uncomfortable, and maybe a little fake.

Kazami Yuuji was no hero.

He'd try not to think about what would happen if it _wasn't_ just a little crush.

While he'd be lying if he said he had no interest whatsoever in Rias, he'd already made his choice and was happy with it.

He was just a little worried as to what might happen to their relationship if they tried to force a choice between the two of them.

Jealousy was a dangerous thing.

That being said, he should probably focus on the task at hand, Akeno was getting a little flushed in the cheeks, and he knew for a fact that all that squirming had nothing to do with the ritual.

The ever pervasive chill seemed a distant memory, meaning his hand was probably fine for now.

"... I think I'm okay for now, Akeno."

In response, Akeno let out a low hum and slowly, sensually drew his finger out of her mouth with a slight pop, and then licked her lips, having never once broken eye contact.

Yeah, she was probably enjoying this.

"Ara ara, that session was shorter than the last. Even if I'm glad you're getting better, it's a shame to think we won't get to do this anymore."

As Akeno spoke, she put her hands on his legs and lifted herself off of her knees until their faces were inches a part.

Fluttering her eyelashes, Akeno continued in a husky whisper.

"But maybe we can replace it with something a little more-"

Whatever she was going to say was lost as Yuuji leaned the rest of the way to give her a quick peck on the lips, before leaning back again as if nothing had happened.

Akeno didn't move at all, frozen in place like a statue, a slowly reddening statue.

Slowly, she removed her hands from his knees and sank back to the floor, one trembling hand going to her lips.

Then she put both hands on her cheeks and began to giggle, closing her eyes and twisting her upper body back and forth.

This, of course, was the moment when Rias opened the clubroom door and stepped into the room.

Yuuji twisted his head to answer the unspoken question.

"Buchou, this…"

He looked back at the oblivious Akeno, who continued to giggle and squirm, and nodded once.

"Is exactly what it looks like."

* * *

"Kala."

"Y-yes, Yuuji-sama?"

"I want you to know that I trust you."

"T-thank you."

"I also trust your sense of direction."

"... Thank you?"

"So I'd like you to tell me, did I make a wrong turn? Or are we in fact where we were intending to go?"

"... No, I believe we are in the right place."

"Thought as much. Give me a moment, would you?"

["Rias speaking, can I... oh, hello Yuuji."]

"Buchou."

["Yes, Yuuji?"]

"Where the hell is my house?"

Kazami Yuuji, along with his housemates, was standing outside his usual, single bedroom flat.

Of course, that's what he _should_ be doing.

Instead, he was glaring daggers at the glass front door of a three story white walled _dormitory,_ taking up almost half the block.

Come to think of it, where the hell were his neighbors?

As if reading his mind, Rias' voice emerged once more from the phone by his ear.

["If you're wondering, Yuuji, your next door neighbors found cheaper, more conveniently located accommodations, available immediately. To make up for any possible inconvenience, we even covered the moving expenses so they didn't have to lift a finger."]

"Rias, we've been gone less than eight hours."

["Plenty of time for them to settle in."]

"...You hypnotized the entire block, didn't you?"

["While I admire your faith in me, something of that level is a little too much for me to do on my own."]

"So yes, but you didn't do all the hypnotizing?"

["Are you coming in or not? You'll worry the neighbors."]

"Coming in? Rias... where are you?"

"Welcome home, everyone."

Rias said that while smiling warmly at the group standing outside…

She had just rounded a corner from inside and was holding open the glass door.

Yuuji didn't move, unheeding of the excited noises that a nearby blonde was making.

One eyebrow slowly rose.

Rias blinked cutely at him and cocked her head to one side.

"Buchou."

"Yes, Yuuji?"

"My house has vanished."

"If you want to look at it that way I suppose."

"This is a high school dorm."

"That was the idea, yes. I've always wanted to live in a dorm fufu~."

"How many of us live here?"

"All of us?"

"Why did that sound like a question, Buchou?"

"Because I don't understand what you're asking?"

"Buchou."

"Yes, Yuuji?"

"You know I love you, right?"

"Y-y-you do!?"

"Yes, which is why I'm doing this out of love. Come here for a moment."

"Doing what out of lo- eep!?"

Rias Gremory found herself abruptly forced to look at the world from a different angle, as one Kazami Yuuji flung her over his shoulder like the world's most elegant sack of potatoes.

Ignoring her protests and squirming, he turned to the girls that were staring at him like he'd grown a second head.

"I can see a floor plan on that notice board, might as well go see your new rooms. I'll be five minutes."

The trio by the door were suddenly very interested in the new decor.

"Y-Yuuji!? Where are you taking me!? I'm your King!? P-put me down! Don't just stand there! D-do something! Y-Yuuji!"

They were gone for exactly five minutes.

When they returned, Yuuji had his usual blank expression in place, with just the faintest smug undercurrent if one knew what to look for.

A flustered and bedraggled redhead sprawled listlessly across the couch of their new lounge.

No one had the courage to inquire further.

Let it be known to all, Kazami Yuuji did not in fact like surprises.

* * *

All in all, the dormitory was probably a good choice for renovations.

They could even ward off any scandal of having Kalawarner living with several of her students, as she was officially the dormitory supervisor, and thus was expected to stay on the premise as much as possible during after school hours.

Hers was the only room on the first floor, though Yuuji had a feeling that pajamas and the like from both Raynare, and Asia, would mysteriously find their way there.

Each room had its own shower, bathroom and kitchenette, with a shared laundry room residing on the first floor, accompanying the lounge, and a larger communal kitchen and dining room.

In a failed attempt not to draw _too_ much attention, the dormitory had not one, but _three_ basement levels.

The first was home to a movie theater, several training rooms and a large indoor bath.

The second basement level had the main feature of a heated indoor swimming pool.

The third was a library, and _mostly_ storage.

... Yuuji didn't even want to know what _mostly_ meant just yet.

He had a feeling Rias didn't really understand the concept of a dormitory all that well.

Heading back upwards, the third and the second floors were divided into two wings by the central staircase, but due to dividing the floors by gender, Yuuji and Kiba each had a wing to themselves on the third floor.

In theory. Yuuji's belongings had already been tucked away in the cupboards and drawers, with even his long black case (unopened as far as he could tell) situated in its usual place under the bed.

However, he noticed two major differences from his old room (aside from being easily double the size).

One, his bed had vanished in favor of an even larger monstrosity (what existed past king-sized? That was beyond him).

Two, not all the clothing was his.

Kazami Yuuji had never, ever, willingly worn lace of any kind.

Or a bra, for that matter.

It didn't seem like such a leap to imagine that those belonged to the raven haired, stark naked beauty seductively draped across his bed, who he had yet to spare a single glance for.

Assumedly, she'd hoped to either surprise or fluster him, quite possibly both.

Amateur.

Admittedly, he had had slept better than he had last night, so with any luck, he could sneak in a short nap before anything _else_ crazy happened.

The beauty on his bed was pouting a tiny bit, but she suddenly stilled when he stepped on the bed and suddenly loomed over her, dropping down to trap her between his hands and knees and leaning very, very close.

Wide violet eyes stared up at him as the woman beneath him tensed.

Only to let out a little shriek as, without so much as a word spoken, Yuuji grabbed her shoulder with one hand and flipped her onto her side, before flopping down at Akeno's back.

Yuuji pulled the bewildered girl in close, pressing up against her back…

And immediately relaxed with a sigh, arms trapping her as he closed his eyes and tucked his chin on top of her head, molding around her.

Curiously, he noticed that there seemed to be quite a bit of heat radiating off his girlfriend, namely centered around the head area, where her hands seemed to have found position over top of her face.

A muffled squeal from beneath those hands widened the smirk on Yuuji's lips.

He'd be a gentleman and not inquire further.

Yuuji did in fact like _some_ surprises.

* * *

She'd been a little worried as of late.

She'd have to be blind not to notice how Rias would often let her gaze linger over one of her servants in particular, and suddenly seemed more fond of a particular couch rather than her desk in the clubroom.

Nevermind the hugs and 'accidental' touches.

Sure, their date was tomorrow, and she couldn't be excited enough.

But her and Rias were often competing neck-in-neck in whatever caught their interest, and she…

Just didn't want to lose here.

Even if they were even in terms of competition, Akeno had always been second to Rias as her Queen.

This time, she so desperately wanted to be _first_.

So admittedly, she might have been trying a little too hard to make herself seem available, when she decided to be the first to welcome Yuuji to his new room completely naked.

She wasn't even quite sure what she would do if he took her up on the unspoken offer.

Her worries seemed a bit silly, now.

Currently, she was playing little spoon to her precious underclassman, who's rhythmic breathing suggested he'd already fallen asleep.

So now, she knew _exactly_ what she'd be doing if her decided to 'take her up on the offer'.

The odd mixture of embarrassment and guilty pleasure of being held captive by someone fully dressed, while she hadn't a stitch on, was driving her _wild_.

What if somebody saw them like this?

Oh, how exciting!

Despite her efforts to tease him, Akeno had quickly discovered that while he didn't play to her S side at all, her hidden masochistic tendencies weren't even _remotely_ hidden as far as Yuuji was concerned.

That had opened up a fun little world that she'd never quite imagined.

Deep down, she'd always half-expected to dominate any relationship she might find herself in.

Then again, she hadn't _expected_ Kazami Yuuji, either.

...That aside, she would need to sit down with Rias, and Asia, and Raynare and Kalawarner soon.

They all had feelings for Yuuji to some extent, that much was clear.

But as things stood, they were all tip-toeing around each other in a way that simply couldn't last.

For now, though?

No one had any right to blame her if she was just a little selfish.

Akeno snuggled in closer to Yuuji and let her eyes drift shut.

* * *

Yuuji hadn't appeared again since he'd done _that_ to her, so maybe she should go see if he was settling into their new room.

Of course she had a room of her own, but she fully intended to deepen her bonds with her adorable Pawn with a bit of skinship and cuddling.

Gremory family tradition.

She was glad that those two were going on their date tomorrow, because she'd been holding herself back as much as she could until then, and after that she had every intention of sitting down with her best friend to discuss her place in the harem Yuuji was inevitably going to have.

Of course, Rias didn't really understand that by anyone else's standards, she'd been failing miserably at 'holding herself back', but the Gremory's were famous for being affectionate with their servants for a very good reason.

It was starting to bother her though.

... No, it had bothered her from the beginning.

Yuuji had kept her at arm's length, meeting any teasing or signs of affection with indifference at best and thinly-veiled annoyance at worst.

Even though Akeno was the only other one who interacted with him in _that_ way (except for when Asia fell asleep against him, which was too precious to fault), he wasn't nearly so cold with the others.

Why did the gap, for her, seem so much wider?

Was she really just 'Buchou' to him, and nothing more?

Rias wanted her household, her family to be happy, more than anything, but she also couldn't stand the thought of them leaving her behind.

Rias Gremory was well and truly terrified of being alone.

* * *

Disgusting.

She couldn't believe how disgusting she was.

How _shallow_ an Angel of Love could be.

She'd Fallen for a reason, though, hadn't she?

It wasn't all that complicated.

She'd seen the footage, she'd seen what Yuuji had done, how far he was willing to go.

Scared.

Raynare was scared of Kazami Yuuji.

... Could she possibly be be any more ungrateful?

She'd _killed_ him, and he'd brushed it off and instead offered to _save_ her.

He had _never_ raised a hand against her outside of sparring, and here she was tip-toeing around him like he was some rabid animal.

She'd like to think she was doing a good job of hiding it, but of course she'd be wrong.

So when later that evening, Yuuji had awoken from his nap and wandered down to the lobby, she'd full-body flinched when he suddenly turned the corner.

"Y-Yuuji! I didn't mean- I can-!"

 ** _Pathetic._**

 ** _Disgusting._**

 ** _This is who you really are, Raynare._**

 ** _Don't bother trying to deny it._**

"Walk with me, would you?"

"Huh?"

Concern.

Staring down at her were deep, dark eyes glittered faintly with _concern._

Raynare thought that she couldn't feel any lower.

She was wrong.

"We're not going far, just to the roof. Just far enough so you can say what you want to say in private."

Say what she wanted to say?

… He'd seen right through her, hadn't he?

Raynare gave a resigned, bitter little laugh and held out her hand, so Yuuji could pull her to her feet.

* * *

"Ah, there you are my boy."

A kind, genial voice that overflowed with compassion.

"I see that fake smile of yours is as unpleasant as always."

A youthful, albeit mechanical response.

"Haha now now, no need to be so rude, my child."

"Just remember that the fact Outo-sama finds you amusing is the only reason you're allowed to continue breathing, regardless of how many crows you roost with."

"Haha, noted, noted. I only called you because I thought I found something that might interest you about those Gremory's."

"The Gremory's? They're amateurs led by a princess. Even if they somehow managed to beat the fried chicken, that's probably all their luck for-"

The younger voice cut off abruptly as a photograph fell onto the table.

"Say my boy, doesn't this one look just like you? You could be twins."

"!"

Smug at finally rendering the young upstart speechless, he was just about press the advantage when-

"Hehe..."

Something ghastly shattered the silence.

"Ahahahahahaha!"

"...Found you, Nii-san~!"

That grin was just a bit too wide for the old man to want test his luck any further.

* * *

Up on the rooftop of their new dorm.

A young man leaned against the rails and stared out across the city, as the black haired young woman some distance away stood with her head bowed.

They'd been silent for several minutes.

Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, and Raynare lifted her head to say something, anything, to reassure him that-

"You're not wrong, you know."

"Y-Yuuji?"

"You should be afraid of me. I'm different from the rest of you, who were forced into violence because of circumstance. _I've always been this way_. So you should be afraid of me, Raynare. Fear is the natural, healthy reaction. You have no reason to feel guilty for reacting normally."

It sounded prepared. How long had he known?

"I- that's… I understand, Yuuji."

How could she not?

Everything he had said made perfect sense. Suddenly, her knees felt weak, and she staggered against the door.

Yuuji didn't seem to notice.

"That's good."

Everything clicked into place from that dull, seemingly carefree response.

" _You're scared too, aren't you?"_

That broad back stiffened.

"I get it… you're pushing me away because you're afraid of how I'll look at you… saying 'it's normal' is just your way of preparing for whoever you think is next."

Raynare's voice was hushed, breathless, as if in the grasp of some sudden revelation.

As if she wasn't even talking to him anymore.

"..."

"Yeah, I am scared of you, okay Yuuji? But… but it doesn't change a damn thing."

"You didn't give up on me, after all I did… and you really think I'm going to give up on you? Hehe... hehehe..."

Yuuji slowly turned, pure confusion written across his face at the strangled, trembling laughter.

"Raynare?"

Anything more he was going to say was cut off as Raynare stamped her foot, threw back her head and let out a frustrated scream.

"Shut up Yuuji! Now I'm pissed off!"

A wide-eyed Yuuji put up his hands defensively as she stomped right up to him and pointed her finger at him like a sword, even more bewildered at her behavior than before.

"You think you can mutilate some creep and I'll just back off!?"

"Well you're wrong Yuuji!"

"I'm not giving up on you, I'm not going anywhere, stop pretending you're fine with things you idiot! Get angry!"

"Angry!? I'll show you angry you stupid woman! What the hell happened to scared!? What the hell are you yelling for!? Why the hell are you angry in the first place!?"

"I'm angry because you're not angry! I'm angry because you scared me you big idiot!"

"You said that already you idiot!"

"I thought you were going to die!"

The corners of her eyes glistened.

"I promised we'd be together, you idiot!"

"Good, I was worried you forgot."

Raynare sniffed and rubbed a hand across her eyes, dropping her voice to a normal level of volume with a satisfied nod.

Yuuji blinked.

Once, twice.

Before he could say anything else-

"I'm sorry, Yuuji-kun. I know it's not fair, but I'm really not that brave. I'll get over it, just give me some time, okay?"

He just stared at her while she turned on her heel and headed to the door.

Pausing with the door handle in hand, she tilted her head back to him and winked.

"Hmm... Akeno better watch out, Yuuji-kun~."

Raynare disappeared without another word.

Yuuji stood there for a while, staring at the door in stunned silence.

"... Not brave huh?"

A short, dry chuckle.

"... You've always been a terrible liar, Raynare."

* * *

Himejima Akeno was not excited.

Such pitiful things as words could not describe her emotional state.

She was going on a date.

She was going on a date with Kazami Yuuji.

This was, unquestionably the greatest day ever to have existed.

Some people might disagree, but what did she care about the opinions of people who were clearly wrong?

She didn't.

Oh!

She should finish getting ready.

Gushing and giggling at the mirror was fun and all, but it wasn't exactly productive.

This was going to be- _t_ _errifying!_

What if he didn't like her outfit!?

What if he didn't like her hair!?

What if she couldn't think of anything to say!?

What if she was too forward!?

What if she wasn't forward enough!?

What if-

"Akeno, I'm coming in."

"R-Rias!?"

The door swung open, and there stood her best friend and master.

Their eyes met, and Rias gave her the _look_.

"Of course you're panicking last minute."

Akeno flushed.

"I- you… you do the same thing!"

Rias nodded sagely, not even bothering to deny her words.

As she spoke, she entered the bathroom, stepping behind Akeno and putting both hands on her shoulders, turning her about and scrutinizing her from her from every angle. Ignoring the flustered expression on her Queen's face.

"Which is precisely why I'm here. I seem to recall that a certain someone is always there to put my worries to rest, and give me that little nudge when no one else is watching, so I thought I might give it a try myself."

Akeno bit off what she was about to say and relaxed, just a little.

Rias fussed with her hair, fussed with her dress, looked at her from different angles, all with her lips pursed.

Akeno stood there with bated breath, before a sudden thought made her giggle.

"Hehe, Rias can never resist the chance to mother someone, can she?"

It was Rias' turn for her cheeks to flush with color, puffing out her cheeks.

"I'm only a few months older! You're even going to tease me now!?"

Akeno tittered with a bright smile on her face.

"Sorry, sorry… what I meant was thank you, Rias."

Fond smiles matched each other in the mirrored reflection.

"Any time, Akeno, you know I want this to work for you. And I'm sure it will be- gah! I can't take it anymore! How are you this adorable!? I don't want Yuuji to have you, I want to keep you and dress you up like a cute little doll!"

"K-k-keep me!? Rias!?"

"No, you can't Rias, you've been working yourself up to letting someone else have your Akeno for days."

Rias wasn't even talking to her at this point, frowning off to one side and crossing one arm beneath her breasts as the other made a fist, to press pensively against her chin.

Akeno was blushing furiously at this point and her heart was fluttering madly.

Was Rias really that possessive?

This was exci- dangerous... definitely dangerous.

No, she really had meant exciting.

... The reflection in the mirror was smirking at her.

"RIAS!"

"Fufu it's rare that I get to one-up you like that, I knew today would be a good one."

She pushed Akeno gently towards the door…

And slapped her on the butt.

Akeno shrieked.

"Ah… I'll cherish this memory forever… knock 'em dead, girl."

Rias closed the door with a wink.

* * *

Living in the same house sure made pick-up convenient.

She should be here any second now-

Akeno stepped down the stairs and came into view.

Yuuji fought down the sudden urge to rub his eyes.

Akeno was _beautiful._

No, not just that.

Yuuji had never realized Akeno could be this cute.

A light purple, one-piece dress with a string bow at the neckline, and white frills at the hem.

Bare legs leading to brown leather ankle boots.

... He'd never seen her with her hair down before today.

Even when she laid in wait, completely naked on his bed she'd kept the pony-tail.

Akeno had always seemed elegant and mature for her age, but now?

She seemed almost younger, fresh-faced and innocent like a maiden in love.

A maiden shyly blushing and peeking up at him under the bangs that covered her eyes, with her head lowered to one side.

"Does… does it look weird? It's embarrassing when you stare at me like that without saying anything."

What was this cute creature?

How...

Ah, that made sense.

She'd left the mask behind.

Akeno's face went from lightly flushed to burning red in a heartbeat as the man who had watched her in wide-eyed silence let his expression melt into a warm, tender smile.

"How lucky can any one guy be?... You're beautiful, Akeno."

His words seemed to only embarrass her further, but her smile was just the tiniest bit blinding.

It brightened further still when he went to offer his arm, thought better of it, and reached forward to take her hand.

"Can… can I call you Yuuji? Just for today?"

"Sure, Akeno, whenever you like."

Her fluttering heart couldn't keep up when he acted all warm and caring like this.

Funny, because Yuuji was thinking much the same.

* * *

Today, Yuuji learned that Kiba had been right all along.

Akeno did in fact, act like a normal teenage girl.

He'd keep Kiba in mind if he ever needed relationship advice, since he wasn't sure he believed in Kiba's inexperience anymore than the girls at school.

Kiba had always been the modest type.

Hand in hand, they'd wandered into a brand name clothing store where Akeno had tried on various outfits, asking 'Hey Yuuji, do I look good in this?', or if this particular piece suited her better, with equal parts excitement and nervousness.

… Before a mysterious switch flipped, and Yuuji found himself being used as the model for various outfits.

He had the vague feeling that something like this had happened before.

If anything she seemed to enjoy that more, so any complaints he might have made were quietly locked away, never to see the light of day.

Like any young couple, they inevitably found themselves at a crepe stand, where Akeno looked at him, raised one eyebrow critically, and ordered on his behalf without another word.

This time, it was the playful way she stuck out her tongue at him which led him to go along with it without any complaints.

That, and the crepe was pretty good.

Seems that sort of food was at its best shared with a pretty girl.

The color on his girlfriend's cheek suggested that that particular thought had been out loud.

After having some time to slog through the mess that was interpreting his own emotions, Yuuji could comfortably say that he really, truly liked the elegant, graceful Onee-san who loved to tease and spoil those she cared for.

... He might just be learning to love the playfully shy, bright-eyed maiden that hid herself beneath.

Which is precisely why there were some things he just couldn't let go.

"Restroom. Mind giving me a moment?"

Akeno blinked out of the soft gaze she'd been watching him with and smiled, one delicate hand resting on her chin.

"Sure, Yuuji."

They were currently having lunch at a small cafe, enjoying the sunshine that accompanied the outdoor seating.

Yuuji had been a Devil for long enough that he'd acclimatized to sunlight well enough to ignore it with little trouble.

Yuuji rose from his seat and entered the indoor section of the cafe.

… And slipped out the other door when no one was watching.

Moving quickly, he wound behind the building, slipping around the back of another and into the alley.

The man that regarded his girlfriend with murderous, incensed eyes never saw him coming.

But Yuuji was hard to miss after he dragged the man back with a hand over his mouth, and slammed him into the wall with something cold and sharp tickling his chin like a feather.

"I don't recall inviting a third wheel. Talk."

Yuuji slipped his hand to rest against the man's throat.

The man glared pure venom at him, seemingly unaware of the precarious nature of his circumstances.

"Disgusting. Why is that creature allowed to pretend it's a normal girl!?"

"Creature?"

The steel in his voice was doing a fine job of imitating the steel in his hands.

The man blinked at him, before his eyes widened in realization and his lips twisted into a contemptuous smile.

"You don't know, do you? That filthy creature is-"

Several things happened at once.

His next words were forced back down his throat by a hand that slammed over it, stars exploded in his vision as said hand bounced the back of his head off the alley wall…

And the air in his lungs froze as something massive and predatory directed its full, undivided attention towards him.

 _ **"That's not your secret to tell, is it?"**_

The knife was forcing him onto his tiptoes.

Somewhere along the way, he had made a fatal, irreparable blunder.

 ** _... The girl wasn't the only monster he'd been tailing._**

"One question, one chance to walk away."

The monster drew its face in close.

The man shivered as the dry voice whispered out like a cold breeze.

"Are you acting on your own?"

He would never dream of betraying the family.

But it seems his body had few scruples about betraying him, as he found himself nodding past the smothering claw.

The monster relaxed its grip ever so slightly as the suffocating pressure eased around him, and it's expression lightened with palpable relief.

"That's a relief. Guess there's no need to get worked up then."

A wave of pure, predatory malice crushed the breath from his lungs and the hope from his heart in an instant.

 ** _"You won't be missed."_**

* * *

"Sorry, Akeno. It's busier around here than I imagined."

"Mm, no it's fine Yuuji. Do you… do you want to go someplace quieter?"

"Yeah, that sounds good right about now."

Yuuji took her hand and led her away, ignoring the sudden shyness that had accompanied her question.

Not really thinking of where he was going, Yuuji led them along a familiar pathway, before they found themselves in a familiar park…

Beside a familiar fountain.

With several odd gouges in the cobblestone, and a small, odd shaped hole in one of the benches.

It wasn't until Akeno let out a stricken exhale that he realized where he'd taken them.

Akeno had her free hand over her mouth as she stared at the damage.

Shit.

"Akeno…"

"This is where it happened, wasn't it?"

"... Yeah. We should leave."

"No... I… I want to see this."

"No, you don't. No good will come of it."

"How can this mean so little to you?"

They shouldn't be here.

Now really wasn't the time.

She was already starting to brood, already starting to…

Asako had taught him how to deal with this.

A one-shot, surefire method for distracting a girl from any sort of gloom or brooding.

Akeno let out a cute little shriek as Yuuji wrapped his arm around her waist and swept her around, leaning her back as he did so that she was propped up by his arm and he leaned over her.

Yuuji gazed deeply into the eyes of the wide-eyed girl in his arms.

"Who was it that was hoping to be 'devoured by a wild beast who finally caught an innocent maiden all on her own'?"

Akeno's answer was to flush bright red and make incoherent noises that just might have been words.

"Sorry Akeno, couldn't quite catch that. Mind speaking up for me?"

Smirking, Yuuji leaned further down, until their noses were almost touching.

"... M-me..."

"That so?"

A mute nod.

He'd teased her enough, perhaps, so Yuuji closed the distance and locked his lips with hers.

Akeno moaned into his mouth and snaked her arms around her neck, pulling him closer.

He straightened his back, pulling them both upright, and Akeno locked her legs around his waist as she deepened the kiss.

They continued like that for a few minutes, and when Akeno's breath started to grow ragged, Yuuji broke off the kiss, pulling his head back a little and looking at her blankly.

"We're straying into exhibitionist territory."

"Oh, what does Yuuji plan to do with little old me?"

Akeno winked at him, the teasing Onee-san personality shining through just a little.

"A lot of things. But, I won't go any farther than you want."

The serious tone gave her pause.

"Then… then I want all the things you want, Yuuji."

"Are you sure?"

"Are… are you going to make me say it?"

"Yeah, I think I am. It might seem cruel, but this isn't the time to be ambiguous."

Akeno closed her eyes and took a deep breath, looking off to one side and squirming about in his grasp a little before mumbling to him.

"Y-Yuuji, make love to me."

"You've been awful quiet today, Akeno. Are you sure you're alright?"

Akeno puffed out her cheeks and glared at him.

"Mou- Yuuji, I want you to have sex with me!"

Yuuji smiled softly at her.

"I think _everyone_ heard you that time."

Akeno turned bright red and let out a squeak, frantically turning her head about this way and that, utterly embarrassed to see…

No one at all.

The black haired beauty let out a gasp and whipped her head around to glare daggers at-

Yuuji kissed her again, forcing her to lean further and further back as he forced his tongue into her mouth.

Embarrassment forgotten, Akeno gripped the back of his head and slipped her tongue past his, wrestling and twining around his own.

Suddenly, Yuuji retracted his tongue and caught hers with his lips, sucking on it and pulling his head back ever so slightly.

Akeno was glad that she didn't have to rely on her own legs for support anymore.

* * *

Yuuji gently took Akeno's hand in his own.

"You alright? You're trembling."

"I'm fine."

Didn't sound fine. Now, first-time jitters or something else?

Time to find out.

"I see… here I go then."

With one hand pushing her hair out of the way, Yuuji leaned in and pressed his mouth to her nape, slowly dragging his tongue up her neck before gently biting her ear and flicking his tongue across it.

Akeno shivered as an electric current raced through her body, moaning in arousal from the second he'd started to trace her neck.

Just jitters then.

Yuuji raised one hand and began to massage her left breast through her dress.

Akeno's breath hitched as he leisurely drew feather-light circles around her nipple without ever quite touching it.

"... Ah… Yuuji…"

"Is the other one lonely?"

A silent, eager nod.

Yuuji met her eyes, and without breaking eye contact…

Bit down softly on her right breast, eliciting a strangled gasp. He let his tongue flick over the covered nipple briefly as he let his hand finally whisper across the the other nipple.

Akeno jerked a little, her breath already uneven. Yuuji tilted his head up towards her, eyebrow raised, and the woman flushed and looked away.

Yuuji straightened up, switching to playing with her right breast as he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Now, maybe I should give some attention down there as well?"

Before she could answer, Yuuji slipped his free hand under the hem of her dress, slid two finger down the outside of her panties, and finally when they began to curve around, pressed up just a little.

Akeno responded with a sharp gasp.

"Oh… Yuuji…."

Yuuji began to gently rub back and forth, Akeno letting out a series of breathy moans with a voice more and more ragged, rocking against his fingers.

"Already this wet, hmm…?"

With her head tilted back towards the ceiling, Akeno didn't catch the wicked smirk that flashed across Yuuji's face. Two fingers slid slowly upwards, pressing down and separating slightly…

"Both at once is too-"

Before coming back together and squeezing the little nub caught between them.

Akeno let out a little shriek and slumped against his chest, gripping on to his shirt. All that from a few minutes of light fingering?

... Maybe he was overdoing it.

"Sorry, maybe I'm playing a bit too hard for our first time."

"N-no… my legs are shaking like crazy and my head is getting all fuzzy..."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Don't you dare."

The grip on his shirt tightened.

"Noted. Guess I'll keep at it. Why don't we lie you down?"

"Please do eek-!"

Akeno yelped as Yuuji pushed her onto the bed and leaned over her, pressing his lips strongly against hers and hiking up her dress with one hand.

Akeno opened her mouth to speak, but whatever she wanted to say was cut off by the tongue that invaded her mouth.

Eventually her dress was up far enough, so he broke the kiss and pulled the dress over her head, Akeno lifting her arms up as he did so.

Sliding it free, Yuuji tossed it to the side and straightened, admiring the little bits of black lace that remained.

When he made no indication of moving, Akeno stared shyly up at him.

"Y-Yuuji?"

"Just admiring the view. You've got one hell of a body, Akeno."

Akeno shivered a bit and gave a pleased smile.

... She'd been complimented on her beauty so many times that she couldn't begin to keep count.

But coming from someone looking at her with equal parts love and desire sent a thrill coursing through her.

So she replied with some dangerous words, fully aware of what she was doing.

"Mmm, that's nice to hear but… _What are you going to do about it_?"

Yuuji blinked, and something predatory slipped its way into his lazy half-smirk.

Her shiver this time was equal parts lust and nervousness.

"Well, I was thinking something like this."

With agonizing slowness, Yuuji hooked his fingers inside her panties and dragged them off of her, two fingers drifting behind, lightly digging in the nails and leaving faint red trails as they passed.

In complete contrast to the maddening, sluggish pace of his right hand, the left hand reached between her breasts, grasped their lacy prison and tore it away in a violent motion, flinging it into the wall.

Driven feverish by the sudden chill and the dissonant tempo, Akeno let out a plaintive mewling noise and tried to sit up, almost unconsciously reaching for Yuuji.

Without breaking his gaze or shifting expression, Yuuji pinned her to the bed with slight pressure on one of her breasts.

Jerked out of her daze, Akeno opened her mouth to-

Several things happened at once.

Yuuji's left hand, still around her breast began to roughly caress and knead her breast.

His other hand slid down, two fingers brushing their way past her quivering clit to slip their way into her dripping entrance.

At the same time, his previously unoccupied mouth bit down hard on her neck.

Akeno wailed in ecstasy and arched up against him, wetness flooding past his buried fingers to soak his hand as her world went white.

Panting heavily, she stared with half-lidded eyes up at Yuuji, motionless for several breathless moments before her eyes snapped open wide and her hands slapped over her face, smothering a high-pitched squeal.

...Yuuji had absolutely no idea what to do with that.

"...Akeno? What's wrong...?"

The hands covering his lovers face slid down just enough to let her eyes peek out.

Her mouth was still covered, though, so Yuuji couldn't make out her words.

"Akeno?"

"I- I can't believe I came before you even stuck it in me! You're not even naked yet! What kind of useless virgin gets off on just that!?"

"Akeno, you're not looking in the right place."

Akeno propped herself up on her elbows and followed his gaze.

"What do you- oh... o _hhh_."

The front of Yuuji's pants had grown incredibly tight as his length strained against it.

She slowly met his eyes and the barely restrained wildness in those black orbs.

He was that excited… over her?

... Now, it was her turn for her perfect lips to twist into a dark little grin.

One word, and he'd pin her down and ravage her right then and there like a wild animal.

… But, it just wasn't fair to let him do all the work, now was it?

A sadistic little giggle slipped free of her pursed lips.

With exaggerated slowness she flipped herself on hands and knees and crawled slowly towards him, licking her lips.

Craning her head up to meet his gaze, she slowly, tortuously dragged one finger up the bulge in his pants.

Yuuji's response was a shiver and a feral growl as his entire body tensed.

"Ohhh, you've been holding on so well, haven't you? Let Onee-san take care of you, hmm?"

Akeno crooned and smiled seductively at him through her heavy lashes.

"Akeno…"

His response with grit teeth made things very clear; if she didn't hurry, things were going to get very, very rough.

Tempting, but one thing at a time... and there would certainly be _plenty_ of time.

Akeno placed a single finger on his lips, as the other hand drew his zipper down and pulled down his underwear to let his dick spring free.

Without breaking her gaze from Yuuji, or lowering the finger from his lips, Akeno straddled him closely, pressing her naked, heaving breasts up against his clothed chest.

Raising herself slowly up Yuuji's body, she shivered in delight as her hard nipples dragged across his shirt, while her still dripping vagina traced the length of his twitching member, coating it in her fluids.

Continuing her ascent until her legs were part way off the bed, Akeno took his length in hand, flicked her tongue across his neck as if tasting him, and dropped down to impale herself up to the hilt.

A sharp exhale as a spike of pain tore something deep inside her, followed by an indescribable warmth that set her core alight as her enraptured moan filled the air.

Yuuji's arms wrapped around her to keep her upright as she slumped forward just a little.

"You alright?"

"Yuuji- Yuuji is inside me… Yuuji took my first time…"

The heat within her seemed to burn the words away, Yuuji filling her so completely she thought she might come undone from the joy of it all.

So, she made do with grasping her lover on the cheeks with both hands and ramming her lips into his, with all the love and lust she could muster.

This time Yuuji acquiesced, letting her be the one to slip her tongue into his mouth and explore around, allowing Akeno to take control.

Not that he'd let her have her way for long.

Akeno still had his dick sheathed inside her, and if she didn't start moving soon…

As if picking up on his frustration, Akeno shifted her grip to atop his shoulders, lifted herself slightly, and then dropped back down, moving stiffly at first but quickly finding a rhythm as she straddled him, their tongues still dancing around each other.

Yuuji dropped his hands to her rear and gave her butt a firm squeeze, taking pleasure in how her moan made her mouth vibrate against his.

Hands began to wander as they explored each others bodies freely, Yuuji's shirt at one point being torn away as violently as Akeno's bra.

Soon, Akeno could feel her entire body twitching and squeezing around Yuuji's buried length.

"I'm close… Yuuji."

"Me too actually."

"You don't sound-"

Yuuji's kiss this time had a distinct fierceness to it, one hand grabbing the back of her head to trap her in place.

Then, for the first time he moved his hips, thrusting upwards into Akeno.

Locked together, Akeno's shriek and Yuuji's growl intermingled in violent chorus, her walls tightened convulsively around him as she reached her peak once again.

The flood of heat that painted her insides made Akeno scream into Yuuji in pure bliss, the sudden tightness having driven Yuuji over the edge as well.

Akeno slowly broke the kiss, her still extended tongue linking a trail of saliva between them.

Trembling hands reached up to her burning cheeks as Akeno gave a giddy smile, a note of wonder in her voice.

"Yuuji's marked me… I'm yours now, aren't I?"

"We didn't-"

A finger to his lips.

That was becoming habit.

"It's a safe day, and birth rates for Devils are awful as it is. We'll be fine."

"Alright then, it goes without saying that I'm yours no matter what."

"... Thank you, Yuuji. I can't tell you how much that means to me..."

Violet orbs glittering with want, Akeno slowly ran her tongue across her lips, before playfully placing a finger against it as if deep in thought.

Almost absent-mindedly, she began to slowly roll her hips back and forth, a small smile on her lips.

"Ara, Yuuji-kun is still rock hard inside of me…. whatever shall I do?"

Yuuji's response was to wrap his arms around her waist and lower them both down until Akeno's back was on the bed, still inside her.

He then reached up with one hand and pinned her wrists above her head.

The predator had returned behind his smile.

Akeno's legs tightened around him almost unconsciously, the girl shivering with arousal as she gazed adoringly up at him and licked her lips once more.

"I wonder."

* * *

Life was filled with many wonderful and exciting ways to wake up in the morning.

All of those immediately surrendered first place (and second too, who was she kidding) to the first words he said to her that morning.

"We have time before school."

... And the rosy-cheeked scolding that Rias gave them when they were late anyways?

Icing on an already perfect cake.

Not even an entire day of being unable to sit properly could ruin that.

* * *

For the next several days, Yuuji and Akeno ended every night in each others arms, and sleep was a minor factor in the equation.

While Yuuji was used to functioning on little sleep, he was actually beginning to worry about Akeno.

His worries seemed to be for nothing, because every day Akeno woke up positively _glowing_.

Not only that, but her performance across the board seemed to actually be improving, even while she was acting less shy than normal around him at school.

Sona taking them to task (read; attempting) over the matter was destined to be a treasured memory for Yuuji.

Of course, it wasn't all sex and sunshine.

The fact that they were currently the only romantically and sexually involved people in the building was beginning to wear on the other girls in the dorm.

The sole other male occupant seemed to only be in a better mood from the development, and his smile seemed to widen every time he saw Akeno's.

Kiba was selfless like that.

Kiba aside though, Yuuji was getting really tired of how the women seemed to struggle to meet his gaze.

Normally innocuous habits like Raynare's greeting hugs or Asia leaning against him, while they read on the couch all seemed to carry a guilty, nervous edge.

"This can't go on."

"No, no it can't."

"This is going to probably be our most awkward group meeting to date."

"Nope."

"Nope?"

"Nope, as in you're not getting involved, Yuuji-kun. This is girl talk."

Yuuji seemed ready to argue, but Akeno put a finger on his lips and pouted at him a little.

"Don't you trust little old me?"

"Not when you're smiling like that I don't."

"Fufu, Yuuji-kun is so cruel."

"That loses all impact when you rub your legs together like that. Scurry on before we forget what we were talking about."

Akeno gave him a quick peck on the lips and skipped off, giggling like a naughty child as Yuuji growled playfully(?) at her.

* * *

"We all need to talk."

"W-we do?"

Rias wasn't the only one that gave a guilty little flinch as Akeno strode into the common room and put her hands on her hips.

Kiba was the first one to respond, in the form of gracefully rising from his chair and passing Akeno to leave the girls to it, patting her reassuringly on the shoulder as he did so.

Not that Akeno let him go that easily, not when she was smiling like that.

"Ara, Yuuto-kun doesn't want to join in?"

Unfazed, Kiba gave an easy chuckle and continued on his way.

"Your thoughtfulness is noticed and appreciated, but I'll freely admit that I am perfectly content with mine and Yuuji-kun's relationship never progressing in _that_ manner."

Akeno giggled as he rounded the corner, and then poked his head back with the playful grin so few ever got to see.

"Have fun building Yuuji-kun's harem."

Kiba whispered, just loud enough for her and no one else.

The giggles intensified as he disappeared, and Akeno waited until his footsteps receded up the staircase to be polite.

Hands still on her hips, Akeno's firm gaze swept over the nervous, and now embarrassed women left in the room.

Nervous with the exception of Koneko, whose eyes were promptly rolled upon meeting Akeno's.

"So."

Everyone tensed.

Akeno rolled her eyes, but kept her stern expression.

"I've thought long and hard about how to go about this, but I've decided to do this the simple way."

The stern expression vanished in favor of a teasing, sultry grin as violet eyes lit up.

"Tell me, how many of you want to bang Yuuji?"

* * *

Yuuji felt the unmistakable sensation of a blade at his throat.

 _ **Open jaws around an exposed artery.**_

 _ **Icy claws sliding their way-**_

What kind of 'girl talk' was happening right now!?

The last time he'd felt such a pervading sense of doom was the time a job had gone so wrong, only a miracle had been able to save him.

... Asako wasn't around to be his miracle this time, was she?

* * *

Akeno took a minute to bask in the warm, cozy glow and soothing melody of furiously blushing faces and embarrassed stammering that accompanied her first of many questions.

The only one not swept up in the storm, Koneko's raised eyebrow and blank expression spoke louder than the Rook ever could.

' _You know exactly what you did.'_

Whereas Akeno's oh so innocent smirk and slight tilt of the head fired back with;

' _Who, little old me?'_

Rather than dignify that with a response, Koneko's facial expression maintained its silence, graciously allowing Akeno to maintain control of the conversation.

"Listen, while I would be more than happy to keep Yuuji-kun to myself, let's face it. I'm not the only one head over heels for him, and I'm not the only girl he'd make wildly happy. So if you can promise you'll love him like I do, then I don't mind sharing."

"... Why am I here, Akeno?"

Blood turned to ice when the voice of her best friend carried nothing more than the sound of pure defeat.

"R-Rias? What do you-?"

Rias shot to her feet, sweeping one arm as if brushing away her Queen's words.

"He's made it obvious he's not interested! I've practically draped myself over him and he looks at me like I'm a nuisance! I…. Yuuji just doesn't want me like he wants you, Akeno. I know we always compete, but… this is your win, Akeno. I can't take it anymore."

By the end her voice was little more than a deadened whisper as she slumped in place.

"Rias, that's not true. Rias wait!"

Rias wobbled on her feet and made to bolt from the room.

She made it precisely one step before a tiny vice clamped over her wrist.

Wide-eyed and trembling, she shakily turned her head back to meet a look of endless frustration and pure, unfiltered annoyance.

"K-Koneko…?"

" _Sit down and shut up, Rias-nee-san."_

Shocked into silence, Rias tried several times to regain her voice, but in the end the words refused to come forth, and she plopped down in her seat without a sound, warily eyeing her enraged Rook, who seemed to loom over her despite still being shorter than her seated form.

Fear turned to a hot flash of shame as Koneko gave a put upon sigh, one hand clutching her nose as if nursing a migraine.

No one said anything for a moment, still more than a little taken aback, before Akeno tentatively took a half-step forward.

"Koneko-chan?"

It was her turn to be skewered in place by a set of chastising golden eyes.

"You're guilty too, Akeno-nee-san."

Koneko dropped her hands to her hips, her expression blank once more.

"You haven't bothered asking if Yuuji-senpai wants a harem, have you?"

"N-no… I wanted to talk to the others first…"

"Does Yuuji-senpai know he can have one?"

As the tense silence took on a rather ashamed, bashful edge, Koneko let out another long sigh, feeling a headache coming on.

"He's been a Devil for how long? How is he supposed to know Devils have multiple partners?"

"I… I can't believe I missed that."

Akeno slumped against the wall, looking more than a little shell-shocked.

Koneko turned and put her hand on Rias' shoulder and her expression softened into a tiny smile.

The look Rias gave her was equal parts anguish and hope.

"Rias-nee-san, he's not uninterested, Yuuji-senpai's faithful."

Hope outweighed despair.

"How do you…?"

Stone-faced once more, Koneko tapped herself on the side of the nose, before flopping back down in her seat with her arms crossed as she looked at Akeno.

' _Deal with it.'_ Her narrowed eyes seemed to say.

"There you have it Rias. Now that that's out of the way, are you going to make a move or am I going to have to parade Yuuji around in front of you until you're too pent-up to hesitate?"

"I… that won't be necessary Akeno. If I'm free to pursue Yuuji then pursue him I shall."

Rias' voice was prim and elegant, as if issuing a decree from on high.

"Yes, Buchou."

So Akeno responded as a proper Queen, even offering a slight bow.

And just like a proper Queen, she didn't even comment on her King's crimson cheeks, instead turning to the little blonde who was at her King's right with a gentle, welcoming smile.

"And you, Asia-chan?"

The girl in question froze at being addressed, before she relaxed, closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her with an almost reverent smile on her face, as if deep in prayer.

...That warm sensation Akeno felt was probably her heart melting.

Potentially fatal, but definitely worth it.

She found herself waging a silent struggle to skip the bothersome serious talk and progress straight to the cheek-squeezing and the hug-smothering.

"Yuuji-san is very kind. He might try to hide it, but on the inside he's warm and caring, and I love that about him. It made me so happy when he said he wanted to stay together forever, and more than anything I'd like that to be as man and woman and maybe-"

Asia seemed to run out of words, because her pale skin flushed to match Rias' hair, and she was twisting back and forth with both hands on her cheeks, face scrunched up with such giddy delight it looked almost painful.

"As if there was any doubt there."

Happily, Akeno turned to the red-faced, blue-haired Fallen Angel beside her, who while pointedly turned away, seemed to notice the implied prompting and answered in her quiet, formal tone.

"I… I will admit that if Yuuji-sama wished to take things further I would have neither the right nor desire to refuse… but I am also his teacher and such feelings are hardly appropriate."

"Kalawarner-san."

Akeno spoke flatly, expression stern.

"Stop beating around the bush. Do you have feelings for Yuuji-kun or not?"

Blinking in surprise, Kalawarner turned to face her with a gaze heavy with conviction.

"I… y-yes. Without a doubt. Yuuji-sama offered his hand to us when no one else would and asks for nothing in return, even if we started as enemies. But that is neither here nor there-"

"You forget, my family owns the school? Keep it out of school hours and everything will work out. I swear it."

Rias spoke, meeting her gaze firmly but still smiling encouragingly as Kalawarner turned back to her.

"I- that is…"

Akeno chimed in for one final push.

"You're thinking like a human Kalawarner-san. Japanese society might frown on teacher-student relationships, but to a Devil it just sounds naughty in the sexy way~."

Akeno punctuated her remark with a saucy wink.

Kalawarner turned bright red at that, but eventually let out a long sigh and smiled.

"Alright then, if Yuuji returns my feelings then I will offer as much of myself as he wishes."

"Good answer. And lastly…"

The dark cloud in the room.

"I can't."

That shaking, almost inaudible whisper came from the black-haired Fallen Angel who had seemed to wilt inwards while attention was elsewhere, shoulders shaking as her hands pressed tightly into her knees, her hair shielding her eyes from view.

The room was silent.

Raynare lifted her head, her tear stricken, agonized face bare to all.

"Do I have feelings for him!? Of course I do! He saved me, he forgave me and he took me in… how could I not!? But that doesn't change anything! He's done so much for me and all I've done is take him on a date just to stab him in the heart! How can I ask for anything more when I've done nothing but hurt him!?"

Without saying a word, Kalawarner offered a tender, motherly smile and reached a hand out to Raynare, gently turning her cheek until they were eye to eye.

Understandably, Raynare wasn't the only one shocked when Kalawarner's next move was to slap her across the face without the slightest change of expression.

Trembling, Raynare slowly raised a hand to her cheek in total disbelief.

Kalawarner had never, _ever_ lifted a hand against her.

The Devil's in the room held their breath as they realized they were witness to something very, very private, as Kalawarner's visage turned into an unyielding, pitiless mask.

"We swore we would leave it all to him, didn't we?"

A mute nod.

"Your guilt, your punishment don't belong to you anymore. Unless you wish to turn your back on him?"

"N-no! I would never-"

Kalawarner cut her off with a finger pressed over her lips.

"Then maybe you should consider how he feels? That boy tries to hide it, but he can't stand contact from people he doesn't trust. And yet, you've hugged him every time you've seen him for weeks. Perhaps the gap isn't as wide as you believe?"

"I- but that's… do you really think so, Kala?"

The quavering voice of the younger Fallen carried a clear ring of hope.

Kalawarner wrapped her arms around her neck and drew her in, Raynare's head pressed to her chest, that motherly expression from before returned as if it had never left.

Resting her chin on the smaller girl's head, Kalawarner began to rub comforting circles on her back as the shaking intensified, and whimpers grew to muffled wails.

"Shhh… it's alright, dear one. Perhaps if you still carry regrets of the pain you've cause him, you could try replacing it with something much brighter instead?"

Wordlessly, a water-eyed Asia rose from her seat and went around to Raynare's other side, sitting down on the arm of the couch and embracing her as well.

Wiping some stray dust from her eye, Akeno fondly watched the scene before her, before turning to the final hold-out.

"Not interested."

"No, Koneko-chan?"

Akeno's oh so innocent prodding drifted out in whimsical lyric.

"I like Yuuji-senpai. He's kind, he never complains about what poor company I can be, and he makes me feel safe. But I'm probably the only girl in the building who doesn't want to have his babies."

Akeno noticed the temperature in the room had risen several degrees.

It must have, otherwise Akeno's cheeks wouldn't be so hot.

 _Yuuji's babies…_

She slapped her hands onto the side of her face, dispersing the clouds around her head. Koneko just gave a tiny little smirk that less familiar people would never have noticed.

"Then why…?"

"Lost."

Koneko's voice was terse, clipped.

"Ara, lost?"

"Yuuto-senpai's real talent is rock-paper-scissors."

"Rock-paper-scissors?"

Akeno tilted her head to the side, bemused.

Koneko nodded along, chagrined.

"He even humored me to best 12 out of 15."

Was she…?

Oh by the Maou's, Koneko-chan was _pouting._

This was _adorable_.

"What were you competing over?"

"Our Onee-sans are silly when it comes to their feelings."

"So the loser had to keep an eye on us?"

The sulky little Rook nodded, crossing her arms with a huff.

Rias and Akeno shared knowing glances and nodded once, in perfect sync.

"Kyaaa! So cute!"

And in perfect sync once again, wrapped their arms around Koneko from either side, rubbing their cheeks up against her, doubly impressive in the fact that Akeno had twice the distance to cover.

Not for the first time that day did Koneko let slip a beleaguered sigh.

"Let me go, Onee-sans."

The two older girls just squealed again and tightened their grips, eliciting another sigh.

...They couldn't have stopped her if she had _actually_ wanted to escape.

Right when the friction was starting to make itself known, the two older girls stilled, and whispered in her ear.

"Thank you so much, our darling little Imouto."

"... You're welcome, Onee-san's."

* * *

Soon.

Soon they'd depart and finally, after years of absence she'd return home.

Finally, she'd be able to visit him once more.

The briefing had stated that Devils had sunk their wicked claws into their home in her families absence.

As if they hadn't done enough.

A familiar twinge, and she dug her fingertips into an old wound that had never healed as it should.

The pain snapped everything into focus, and her mask slipped back into place just in time for Xen-chan to round the corner, a clothed bundle across her back.

The raised eyebrow suggested that the mask wasn't fashioned quite as securely as she hoped.

"I'm fine Xen-chan! I'm just so excited to be going home! I can't wait to show you around!"

I can't wait to see Issei after all this time!

* * *

 **Replaced and removed aren't quite the same thing, now are they?**

 **Storm clouds gather, but our protagonist is too busy having sex with Akeno to notice.**

 **Akeno is pulling the double duty of being a good girlfriend to Yuuji, and establishing his harem for her sake as much as his.**

 **Akeno might be the most erotically-minded girl in the main cast, but Yuuji is on record with the stamina necessary to make experienced prostitutes cry from exhaustion, and he's been banned from a red-light district or two. It's no shame to share the load, when said load was mildly unnatural before his induction into the** _ **supernatural**_ **.**

 **Koneko and Kiba continue to work hard to take care of their silly older sisters. Koneko was the victim of this chapter.**

 **Next chapter is the Familiar Forest among other things, which I have every intention of having** _ **way**_ **too much fun with.**

 **As always, comments, criticism and various other insights are welcome, and I'll see you all next time.**

 **And no, I have no intention of ever telling you what 'that' was.**

 **PS, the dormitory the cast now lives in is a Rias-sized rendition of the Mihama dormitory from the Grisaia Trilogy. Kalawarner's room is identical to the one Yuuji had, if you doubled the size of the room and the apparent socio-economic status.**


	8. Friends With Benefits

**Here we are in the Familiar Forest, which to no surprise was** _ **way**_ **too much fun to write.**

* * *

"Does anyone else hear that tapping noise?"

"You're just imagining it, Yuuji. I don't hear anything."

"...That so? Well, I do think it's good to see how excited you are for Asia's debut."

"Of course I'm excited! She's such an adorable little thing, I can't wait to for Sona to officially meet my darling little Bishop!"

"..."

"Shut up Yuuji, let me have this."

" I didn't say anything, Buchou."

"...It's your debut too."

"Sona already knows me."

"Unofficially. Doing things in their proper order is important."

"If you say so. I'm terrible with names anyways so a refresher never hurts."

"Is… Is Buchou that excited to introduce Yuuji-san and I?"

A timid Asia had finally managed to interject in the constant back and forth between Rias and Yuuji.

Currently, the Gremory peerage ( with their Fallen Angel companions) were gathered to officially introduce their newest members to the other peerage on campus and their new members.

A peerage led by Sona Sitri, joint governor of Kuoh and Student Council President, with her household making up the other members.

Also a childhood friend of Rias, which led to constant competition that being young and ambitious High-Class Devils tended to foster.

Currently, one of those High-Class Devils was beaming at her adorable servant.

"Yes Asia, I am. You're both treasured additions to my family, and I'm so very proud of you. This is an opportunity to introduce you to your peers, but for me it is also a chance to share my pride and joy with those I respect."

Rias had been glowing with said pride since the moment she'd gathered them in here.

She was a Gremory through and through.

When the knock on the door was heard, her almost giddy aura of excitement slipped behind the elegant, aloof demeanor of a King, though her smile was still welcoming.

"We've been expecting you."

"Pardon the intrusion."

The slender young woman that opened the door had short black hair in a bob-cut, her stern violet eyes observing the room from behind black framed glasses.

Following behind her were six other girls and one boy, the other members of the student council.

As her servants stood behind her, Sona and Rias exchanged glances and Sona gave a small nod.

With the results of the wordless conversation, Rias spoke up first.

"While I believe you're already acquainted, this is my Pawn, Kazami Yuuji."

"Hello again, Sona."

"Hey, shouldn't you be a bit more respectful talking to Kaichou?"

The one who'd spoken was the blonde boy, the only male member of the student council.

"Kazami-san has been living abroad until recently, so his lack of honorifics can be excused… within reason."

The slight narrowing of eyes made the warning clear.

"If you say so, Kaichou. Man, so the Silent Prince of Kuoh is the new Gremory?"

"No, because I've never been called that."

An awkward silence filled the room, and Yuuji belatedly realized that everyone was staring blankly at him.

 _Everyone._

Even Asia.

Yuuji raised an eyebrow and waited.

Before the silence could stretch on any longer, Akeno coughed and decided to bring him up to speed, sharing a pleased smile with Rias.

"Ara, Yuuji-kun has had that nickname since the first week, and he didn't realize? You're almost as popular as Yuuto-kun."

"But 'Silent Prince'?"

"You don't talk very often, Yuuji-kun. There are several theories as to the sound of your voice."

Kiba smiled as he chimed in.

"...Not the worst rumors I suppose. Shouldn't we be focusing on more important things?"

Yuuji gestured to the little blonde at his side, whose eyes widened as attention shifted to her, shooting to her feet to offer a bow towards the visitors.

"I-I'm Asia Argento, Buchou's Bishop! Please take care of me!"

"Asia-chan, was it? I'm Genshirou Saji, Kaichou's newest Pawn. Pleased to meet you."

"Yes, pleased to meet you as well, Saji-san!"

The room brightened several degrees with her smile, so no one noticed Rias wiping away a happy tear.

No one willing to comment, anyways.

"I managed to take up four Pawns, which I hear is pretty impressive. Don't think it's a competition or anything like that though, Kazami."

Yuuji gave a blank look to Sona, who sighed softly.

'While I hate to burst your bubble, Saji, Kazami-san required eight Pawn Pieces, and was the one to eliminate Riser Phoenix from the Rating Game. He's also the primary trainer for Rias' peerage, among other things."

Saji's jaw dropped to the floor.

… By other things, Sona Sitri meant that she knew a great, great deal of arguably trivial information about Kazami Yuuji, and Asia Argento for that matter.

One of Rias Gremory's most admirable traits was that despite her pride, she wasn't particularly arrogant, and almost never bragged.

...About herself.

Her precious servants were always the first (second and occasionally third) topic on Rias' mind during their frequent chats.

Rias was not so much a 'typical Gremory' so much as a standard the rest of them could be held to.

Sona didn't mind all that much.

She was one of the few to bear witness to Rias' hidden despair at having her future and husband decided for her.

So she was also one of the few who could accurately attest to that secret melancholy's timely death.

Whether he'd ever find out was an entirely separate matter, but Sona Sitri was grateful towards Kazami Yuuji.

Asia Argento as well, as Rias' claim that Asia made a room a brighter, happier place with her mere presence could be now be verified as fact.

Sona didn't believe for a second that Asia was a 'former Holy Maiden', simply because she didn't entirely believe the 'former' part of that label.

"I'm already familiar with Kalawarner-san, but I don't believe we've met, do you prefer Yuuma or Raynare?"

Raynare gave a cheerful smile.

"Raynare is fine whenever we're in private. Thanks a bunch for letting us enroll here, Sona-san!"

"You're welcome. I was a bit hesitant to agree, but you're both integrating without issues and Rias vouches for you. As long as those two facts remain true, we'll get along just fine."

The two Fallen nodded in response, smiling.

"Kazami-san, Argento-san, it was a pleasure to formally meet you, please take good care of Rias. We have other matters that require our attention, but Tsubaki, I'll have you and the others go on ahead, I have one last matter to attend to here."

Taking the hint, Tsubaki, her Queen and Vice-President, a tall, black-haired girl with blue framed glasses, promptly began to herd the other Student Council members out of the room.

After their farewells had faded and the doors closed behind them, Sona moved on to her second, arguably more important task.

Her estimation of him rose a notch or two when Yuuji met her silent, somewhat infamous look of appraisal without wavering, merely raising his eyebrow in silent question.

She then looked him up and down, expressionless, before shifting her gaze to a (nervously) smiling Rias for a moment, then Akeno (who winked at her).

Once that was done, she turned her vision back to Yuuji and nodded once.

"Very well, I'll allow it."

The embarrassed stammering of her oldest friend as she turned and left without, another word did not bring a tiny, self-satisfied smile to Sona's face.

... No one could prove otherwise.

* * *

"Familiars, Buchou?"

"Yes, you and Yuuji don't have them yet."

"Hmm… so a familiar is a magical creature of some kind that assists a Devil right?"

"That's more or less correct, Yuuji."

"In that case, I already have something in mind."

Yuuji had pulled out a coin and clenched it one hand, before hiding it behind his back, shuffling his hand around out of sight.

The other occupants of the clubroom watched with bemused expressions, lost as to what he might be thinking.

"Pick a hand, Asia."

After a moment's hesitation, Asia picked the right hand. Yuuji displayed his empty hand.

"Ok, the coin was Ray, so Kala is your familiar now."

Asia's face was going through gymnastics trying to decide if it would display confusion or excitement, and for some inexplicable reason Kalawarner was flushed crimson and very, very still.

Rias dropped her head into one of her hands with a put-upon sigh.

"You can't make them into familiars, Yuuji."

"Why not?"

"Because-"

"Wouldn't that technically make them part of our Faction?"

A moment of utter silence.

"It doesn't work like that!"

"No, Buchou? Huh, Devil rules are weird."

"I think you're the weird one Senpai."

Before Yuuji could retort, a pair of slender arms wound slipped over his shoulders from behind, and something soft pressed up against him over the couch.

A soft voice whispered teasingly in his ear, still loud enough to be heard by all.

"Oh, but if Yuuji-kun wanted to treat me like a pet, I don't think I'd mind~."

Yuuji blinked in surprise to realize that the usual suspect for such things was still standing by Rias' desk, and even more surprised when his girlfriend gave an encouraging smile and a thumbs up to the culprit.

A soft cheek rubbed up against his as the hug tightened.

"Well Raynare, if that's what you're into I think Akeno has a collar you can borrow."

Suddenly, the cheek pressed up against him seemed very, very warm, and the only reply was a cute little squeak.

Akeno had a wide, sadistic grin, while Rias flushed and covered her face with her hands.

Mostly because Rias was the other person who knew for a fact that Akeno didn't have 'a' collar to be loaned out.

She had several.

* * *

The Familiar Forest was wreathed in a perpetual gloom, towering, ancient trees defying the sunlight with their dense canopies.

As the Gremory household stood its mouth, Rias stood some distance ahead and addressed her servants.

"We were a little side-tracked earlier, but now's a good time to introduce our familiars."

As she spoke, a crimson furred bat appeared on her outstretched hand with a small whumpf of air.

Yuuji had no idea a bat could look so regal, apparently it was taking notes from it's master.

"Here's my little one."

A miniature, blue-skinned oni popped into view, reclining on Akeno's shoulder with a smirk.

"This is Shiro."

A white-furred kitten was being hugged by Koneko.

"Ah, there you are."

From the empty air behind him, a small hawk swooped onto Kiba's shoulder. He smiled and stroked it's feathers.

Yuuji blinked, and apparently that was enough to miss some important developments, because several feminine voices gave high-pitched squeals at the quartet of small creatures now flapping around or crawling over a giggling, smiling Asia.

The tiny oni sitting on her head scooted around until it could meet Yuuji's gaze with judging button eyes.

After a moment, it crossed it's arm and gave an imperious nod of approval before vanishing, the other familiars following suit.

"Your first Familiar is considered a rite of passage for all Devils, they're a friend and companion that will be at your side for life. We'll be here all day, and I'm sure we'll capture the perfect Familiars for you two."

The way Rias said it, 'perfect' sounded like an inevitable conclusion rather than an aspiration.

Nothing but the best for her precious family.

However, when a young man with bright orange hair, a backwards ball cap and cargo shorts flipped out of the tree, Yuuji's eyes began to burn holes in to Rias.

When the odd newcomer introduced himself as 'Satooji of Madara Town', an aspiring 'Familiar Master', Yuuji blinked once and turned on his heel.

"I'm going home."

"Yuuji hold on!"

"Isn't it a King's duty to address her Peerage's concerns?"

"... Yes?"

"I'm concerned this day could get weirder."

"Get back here Yuuji."

"Fine, let's hurry up and find a dog, and something cute for Asia."

"A dog?"

"Haha! So our new Devil wants a dog does he!? Wonderful! Perfect! We have fire-breathers, three-headers, and I think I even saw the moon-eating wolf variety near the mountains!"

Currently, Satooji was right beside Yuuji, flipping rapidly through the pages of a truly gigantic grimoire as if it were a catalogue.

Given that the tome was filled with monsters, 'catalogue' was probably what he called it.

… Where had he pulled that from, anyways?

"Why the hell would I want a moon-eating… Buchou, no."

Rias' excited smile carried all the conviction of a proper King.

"Ufufu, a moon-eating wolf? That would be perfect for my Yuuji, yes it would."

"Buchou, your Yuuji would definitely die, you know? I think I'm a few tons below that weight class."

"Hmm… fine. We'll just settle for Cerberus."

Yuuji would have felt more guilty about the way she slumped in disappointment if she hadn't just been plotting his demise.

"I… I just want something cute and friendly."

Asia weighed in, poking her fingers together and not looking at anything but the ground.

"Cute and friendly, huh? Hmm and we'll need one who can protect a cute girl like you… Undine. Definitely an Undine."

Yuuji found himself wondering why the name 'Undine' was the first thing to give him chills.

* * *

They'd been walking through the Familiar Forest for about half an hour at this point, listening to the sounds of creatures moving just out of view.

At one point, they paused at a fork in the trail when something truly massive crashed it's way through the forest up ahead.

Satooji seemed to perk up in excitement, before he visibly deflated and scuffed the dirt with his shoe, muttering about how it was neither a dog, nor cute, unless you looked at it in the right light.

Yuuji was secretly glad Satooji curbed his urges, especially since Rias looked like she wanted to chase it as well.

Up ahead, a small shape hopped out of the bushes, eyeing them curiously as it meandered across.

Asia gave a muffled yelp as Rias grabbed her with a sharp gasp, shoving Asia's head into her full chest, twisting her body to act as a shield.

In sync as always, Akeno had done the same thing to Koneko.

With a split second delay, Raynare suffered the same pillowy fate at the hands of Kalawarner, who didn't quite seem to know why she was on guard.

Kiba had his sword out, but the way he was staring at the older girls in surprise suggested it was just reflex.

With his head tilted to one side, Yuuji examined the small critter, wondering what had set them off.

It was a small, white-furred creature that looked something between a cat and a rabbit, with round little pink eyes, two sets of ears (one upright and triangular like a cats, the others floppy and long like a rabbits), rings around it's lower ears, and a long bushy tail.

The tip of its ears and its tail were pink.

It sat on the pathway, staring at them and washing itself like a cat.

Then it gave a very human-like click of the tongue and scurried off.

The two Onee-Sama's and his Sensei were busy shielding the younger girls, so Yuuji turned to the Familiar Master with all the reluctance of a death row inmate taking his final walk.

"That was a Kyuubi. Incredibly intelligent, and said to grant incredible power to young girls, but they also have a dubious reputation as bringers of calamity."

"But it was cute…"

Rias had let the smaller girl breath, cradling her protectively as she pat her on the head.

"It's okay Asia-chan, we'll find you something cute that won't ruin your life."

"O-okay Buchou, I trust you!"

The forest had gotten brighter for a second.

... Yuuji was seriously beginning to wonder if Asia's smile could be considered a fuel-efficient light source.

* * *

Faster than anyone could react, something fell out of the tree and enveloped Asia's head.

Yuuji could still see her look of surprise, because the thing that had fallen on her was a translucent blue-

"Slime?"

Asia was still smiling, right until nothing but bubbles escaped her mouth.

Then she panicked trying to pull it off her head, but her hands simply sank into it with a wet squishing noise.

As Yuuji and the others moved to help, she raised her hands to it once more.

… And pulled it off her head with a plop and a cute expression, before hugging it to her chest, cooing happily.

Everyone stopped in place to stare.

After several seconds, Asia seemed to realize she was the center of attention, and bashfully ducked her head behind the (still translucent) slime in her arms.

"Asia… how did you manage to grab the slime?"

Rias began carefully, approaching slowly. Asia perked up immediately, smiling once again.

"Well… the first time I tried to grab her, I couldn't, so... I tried harder!"

Asia stuck out her tongue to the side with a 'teehee'.

"You tried… harder?"

"Mhm!"

Akeno peered at her carefully.

"Buchou, her hands are shimmering… I think her magic reacted to her desire to hug the slime."

Of its own accord, Akeno's hand leapt to her face to muffle what was certainly not a giggle.

Her valiant attempts to hide her mirth were still in the process of abject failure when the slime flowed out of Asia's grasp and lunged at her.

"Oh!"

Rather than envelop her head, the slime splashed and wound its way around Akeno's body, flowing between and across her breasts, constricting her pale thighs and slender waist like thick watery ropes.

"Ara, Slime-kun sure is advanced… Oooh!"

It tightened underneath her breasts, pushing them upwards, and that's about the point her clothing started to melt.

"A-Akeno! Satooji-san, what is it doing!?"

Rias turned to the Familiar Master who had remained silent until then, one hand on his chin.

"Your uniforms don't happen to be magically reinforced, by chance?"

"Yes, they're enhanced to be more durable than normal clothes so they can protect us and we can fight in them without wardrobe malfunctions."

Yuuji's shot her a look of pure disbelief.

"Buchou, you girls have wardrobe malfunctions all the time."

"But how often do we have wardrobe malfunctions _and_ bleed?"

Rias was the picture of smug triumph.

"Well Gremory-san, that's a Magi-Slime. Rather than rely solely on water like an average Slime, they can also absorb magical energy. In a place like this, they can easily absorb ambient energy from the air, but a bunch of supernaturals wearing magical clothing is like a feast."

Akeno was starting to pant from the ceaseless caressing, but the rapidly increasing nudity seemed to only enhance the enjoyment on her part.

Yuuji was watching, after all.

"Don't worry though, they're harmless, your Queen is in no danger. Devils and most other supernatural's leak magical power, so the Slime is likely just siphoning off the excess... unless it's really hungry."

"Unless it's hungry!? How do we get it off her!? Wait, why is Akeno drooling!?"

"Well unless you can do that magic trick the little blonde did… oh yeah, definitely hungry."

"What's going on now!? Akeno are you okay!?"

"Buchou."

"Yuuji!? How can you be so calm!?"

"I recognize those noises."

"Recognize…?"

The Slime abruptly seemed to ramp up it's ministrations, coiling around each of Akeno's breasts and pulling them slightly away from each other, before a set of tendrils enveloped her mostly clothed peaks and began to wriggle and contract, wet slurping noises filling the air.

One more tendril poked up between her breasts, winding around to suckle on the side of her neck.

Akeno tensed and arched her back with a long moan, before dropping to her knees and slumping forward, her butt up in the air.

"Ara… Slime-kun is almost as good as Yuuji-kun~."

She lay there in that awkward position, chest heaving and legs twitching.

"... Did it just?"

"Every supernatural race radiates more magical energy when experiencing heightened emotions, and Magi-Slimes are a benevolent species as a whole."

Yuuji seemed somewhat impressed, and since Akeno had the same dopey-but-pleased smile she wore after their night-time bonding sessions, she was probably fine.

A breathy giggle slipped out.

Yep, juuuust fine.

"Pleasure, yes. Magi-Slimes go for a give-and-take sort of arrangement, so 'attacks' just happen when they get hungry. They don't really understand why someone _wouldn't_ want to feel good, so the timing can be awkward."

"Think it's all done?"

The slime had resumed it's tear-drop shape, resting on Akeno's exposed back.

Now that they could get a better look at it, the slime was a pale blue, shifting to green near the top, and yellow at the tip of it's round antenna.

It even had two solid green shapes that were assumedly eyes.

"Nah, that's not what she should look like. In all likelihood, she will target the next nearest thing with high magical energy."

Yuuji took a half-step back, sharing a relieved look with Kiba.

"We're probably safe then, so that's good. There's no demand for that sort of thing anyways…. hang on, 'she'?"

Rias had just caught the implications of Satooji's words.

"Wait, I'm the only one with more magical energy than-"

Surprising no one, that was when the slime pounced.

Rias' scream degraded into a series of yelps and twitches as it flowed down and into her shirt with liquid grace, slipping in between the buttons and hugging Rias' torso in long, wriggly bands.

While most of those present averted their eyes, Yuuji watched with a clinical interest.

"Hmm, breasts of course, but Slime-san is also paying a lot of attention to the sides and inner thighs… taking more time to bounce things around than with Akeno… so that's where she…? This might come in handy, Akeno was right about Slime-san being advanced."

"Y-Yuuji! Stop grading it and help me! I'm s-s-starting to feel strange!"

Rias had already given up on trying to pull free, and had one fist pressed against her lips while the other was supporting her shaking legs, knees pressed together.

The dissolving process had begun, flashes of slime underneath her top now visible.

"Sorry Buchou, I'm not sure how to help you without hurting you or the Slime. You have any ideas?"

This question was directed to the large black dog sitting on its haunches by his side.

{"Can't say I do. Don't worry though, that child is very gentle, your master is in good hands."}

"That's a relief."

{"Looks like she's almost full too, so she should calm down after this."}

"Full? How can you tell?

{"Her body is becoming less transparent. See how your master's form is a bit blurred in places?"}

"Oh… yeah I do see what you mean. Stay strong Buchou, you're in the home stretch!"

Yuuji's rare words of encouragement were wasted on deaf ears. Rias clearly had less resistance than Akeno (not that he could help with that), and was squirming about on her back, once again vainly tugging at the Slime ( who took that as an invitation to suck on her fingers).

"Y-Yuuji! This isn't- EEK!? W-where are you-!?"

Whatever Rias was going to say was cut off by a sharp cry as she spasmed, digging her heels into the soft forest floor. Skin flushed to match her hair, Rias let her head fall to one side as she panted and twitched on the ground.

"I…*huff* can't *huff* believe… even Yuuto…"

She craned her head in her Knight's direction, tone vaguely reproachful.

Kiba's tone was apologetic.

'Sorry Buchou, you know the rules."

During that whole mess, Kiba had politely turned his back, busying himself with kneeling in front of Koneko to cover her eyes with his hands.

Meanwhile, the taller Kalawarner had stepped up behind the tiny girl to help cover her ears, and she too had her eyes closed, looking a bit flustered herself.

"Hang on, Kiba, we have rules for this sort of thing?"

"Hmm, no one told you, Yuuji-kun?"

"Don't look at me like I'm the strange one here."

Rias let out a squeak and shivered as the Slime flowed out from around her until it was gathered on her chest, and then 'she' flowed upwards, until a small, naked young woman with translucent blue skin and green hair (tendrils) was straddling her stomach, hands resting in front of her and yellow-tipped antenna bobbing happily.

A soft, dreamy voice filled the clearing.

"Thank… you… Chou!"

The little Slime-girl leaned forward to offer Rias a friendly pat on the cheek.

Then, she rose to a standing position and twisted to face the group in a manner no bones could replicate, bright, solid green eyes twinkling and a sunny, vaguely familiar smile on her face.

"Ufufu, was it good for Buchou as well?"

Akeno had mostly recovered by this point, so while her uniform was still tattered and wet, she had stretched herself out sensuously on her side, regarding the proceedings with heavy-lidded eyes and a small smile.

One slender finger idly drew circles in the ground.

That Rias' answer was mostly gasping brought a fresh set of chuckles to the black-haired Queen.

Before she could say anything else, the Slime-girl jumped once more, arms outstretched…

And was easily caught by a giggling Asia, who returned the hug with no issue at all.

"Hehe you're so cute! Buchou can I keep her?"

Currently the Devil and the Slime were rubbing cheeks together, the enquiry Asia's only pause in her laughter.

"I'm not sure... that's a good idea Asia. She's a bit too… forward."

Asia's arms tightened and her eyes began to water.

The Slime mirrored her.

"Oh, but Suu didn't mean it! She just lacks a bit of common sense, she just needs someone to teach her! Pleeease Buchou?"

Watching the scene with a smirk, Yuuji noted that, not counting the round antenna on her head, 'Suu' was exactly the same height (and proportions) as Asia.

Mimicry again?

"Pleaaase…. Chou?"

"Oh Maou, there's two of them."

Rias was noticeably struggling to keep her stern expression, with not one, but two pairs of watery green eyes glimmering at her.

"She's already named her, Buchou~."

"*Sigh* I'm aware Akeno… Very well Asia, but teaching her manners and keeping her well fed is your responsibility, am I clear?"

Rias had risen up to a sitting position, her lecturing tone at odds with the slight quiver in her legs, folded beneath her.

This put her at a good height to be bowled over as not one, but two green eyed girls dove at her, hugging her happily and rubbing cheeks (one very gooey) with the taller girl.

"Thank you so much Buchou!"

"Thank.. Much.. Chou!"

"Y-you're welcome… now let me up please!"

"Oops, sorry Buchou, teehee!"

"Sorry… Chou.. tee... hee"

The smaller girls pulled her back to her feet, and Rias had one hand folded in front of her chest, standing tall with an elegant expression, in an attempt to salvage some small piece of her dignity.

Akeno rose sinuously from the ground as well, drawing a daring line between flaunting and concealing her malfunctioning wardrobe.

"*Ahem* Now, I suppose we should address the elephant in the room?"

Rias appraised the newcomer, still sitting on his haunches at Yuuji's side.

"Pretty sure he's a dog, Buchou."

"...Yes Yuuji, I'm aware."

"There's no room either. We're outside."

"... Thank you, Yuuji."

"Anytime, Buchou."

* * *

"Hehehe, would you believe Issei-kun thought I was a boy this whole time?"

A girl with light brown twin-tails and violet eyes was sitting on a stone step, her white cloak bunched on the floor beside her as she kicked her legs about with an enthusiastic smile.

Her fit, slender body was covered in a tight, black, reinforced leather suit ending part way down her thighs, leaving her shoulders bare, and fingerless gloves of the same material covering most of her arms.

Her legs were covered by thigh high boots of the same material. Wrapped around her right arm, just above the bicep was a white ribbon, and a silver rosary dangled around her neck.

"A boy, really? How'd he manage that, Irina?"

Beside her sat a girl in similar clothing, though her leather suit was a unitard that left more of her legs uncovered, opting instead for short sleeves.

Slender still, but taller and more developed than her friend, she had chin-length blue hair and a green fringe, with brown eyes.

Irina stuck out her tongue with another laugh, tapping one fist to her head in a silly gesture.

"I was a total tomboy when I was little, so I always wore boy clothes 'cause they were easier to play in! I bet we still would have been best friends if we met that early, Xen-chan!"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Xenovia sat calmly beside her more upbeat friend, one hand idly fiddling with the wrappings covering a heavy, cross-shaped object beside her, it's length reaching all the way to her ribs if she stood.

"Issei's been working hard all these years, he was pretty dumb when he was little but now he studies sooo hard, I couldn't believe how smart he is now! His parents say he's pretty popular with the girls, but he has no idea! Which is good, I don't want any of those floozies taking advantage of a sweet boy like Issei!"

Irina's expression shifted into an incensed scowl as she talked about other girls, but turned back into a smile so quickly that no one but Xenovia would be able to keep up.

"Hoh, a good student eh? You could learn something from him."

"Hey, I'm a great student when I pay attention!"

"There's a 'when'? Guess I don't pay enough attention either."

Xenovia actually looked a bit troubled at having missed that.

"Hey! Xen-chan you bully!"

Irina puffed out her cheeks.

"Sorry, sorry. So, which school does Issei go to?"

Irina went rigid, eyes going wide, and her hand flying to her side, as Xenovia silently cursed her lack of tact.

Irina stared at her for a moment, pale, almost unconsciously digging her fingers into her left side, just above the hip.

Dammit, she shouldn't have asked that-

"I… I…"

"Irina-"

Xenovia reached a hand out to her, but immediately recoiled as Irina threw her hands up into the air.

"I totally forgot to ask! I'm such a dummy!"

Wailing comically, Irina rubbed both hand furiously through her hair.

Relieved, Xenovia let out a soft sigh, smiling once more.

"You forgot to ask?"

"I totally forgot! Mama Hydou distracted me with Issei pictures! Aggh I can't believe it, Issei was so adorable! That's cheating!"

As Irina crossed her arms in a pout, Xenovia scooted closer, lifting one hand to tenderly brush her friend's hair back in place.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get another chance. You'll have to wait though, the Devils probably know we're in Kuoh now, so we'll need to meet with them tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know. I don't want the Devils knowing that I have a friend here right under their noses, Issei doesn't know about the supernatural, and he doesn't know I'm an Exorcist. I don't want him dragged into any of this, but I'm sure the Lord will keep him safe! He still has the rosary I gave him, so I bet he prays all the time!"

"The one that matches yours? He must like you a lot."

Irina blushed and ducked her head shyly and poking her fingers together.

"Well, I'm sure when we're done our mission here, you'll have another chance. And I promise, if they do find out about Issei I'll help you protect him. If he's your friend, he's mine as well. I won't let anyone hurt the people you love."

Irina shuffled closer, closing the remaining distance and laying her head on her companions shoulder.

"Thanks, Xen-chan, that means a lot. It was really nice of you to go ahead and set things up while I visited Issei-kun."

"... Anytime, Irina."

Irina couldn't see it now, but Xenovia wasn't smiling anymore.

* * *

"I-in the name of Asia Argento, I order you! Become my familiar, and r-respond to this contract!"

"Yay…!"

Yuuji wasn't sure if that was the correct response, but the warm green magic circle that Suu was standing in shone brightly, the light washing up her body as she threw up her hands enthusiastically.

Akeno was supporting her with the ritual, as it was her first time, but Asia was talented enough that she just needed a little nudge here or there.

Akeno seemed relieved, the little blonde and her Familiar seemed very excited to complete the ritual, so it going off without a hitch was a welcome sight.

{"It's nice to see the children grow up. Suu will have a good home with Asia."}

The soft, firm voice wasn't coming from audible, rather drifting through the heads of those gathered directly.

"Yeah, she's in good hands."

The dog at Yuuji's side was huge, to the point where sitting on his haunches like he was, he was eye-level with Koneko.

A wolfhound, with pitch-black fur and red eyes, his tail longer than he was, drifting and flickering in the nonexistent wind like a dark ribbon.

Rias wiped a happy tear from her eyes, watching the girl and her Slime hugging each other and giggling.

"It's nice to see the children grow up."

In a very human-like gesture, the dog raised an eyebrow and looked up at Yuuji.

{"I can tell she's the master to most of you, but isn't she a bit young to be the bright one's mother? I know it's hard to tell with Devils, but they don't smell that different in age."}

"Ufufu, my servants are my precious family, so it's- h-hey you just said the same thing about Suu!"

{"Yeah, I'm Suu's guardian, so of course I'm happy for her. Guess the bond is the same with you? Haven't met a lot of Devils like you, so I apologize if I spoke poorly."}

"There's nothing to forgive, Ulysse-san was it? What brings you here, were you just keeping an eye on Suu?"

{"Partially. Making sure Suu finds a good home was important, but I also wanted to ask this one for help."}

"Yuuji? Why him?"

{"His scent is familiar, though we've never actually met. That and he's a dog person."}

"A dog person? Well I can understand that now, but how did you know?"

{"We can tell these things."}

"What did you need help with Ulysse?"

Yuuji crouched down to bring himself closer to eye-level, though with Ulysse' height they just switched who was looking up at who.

{"Something unpleasant slipped it's way into the forest and is preying on the little ones. It can go places I can't, and doesn't leave a proper scent trail, so I haven't been able to catch it."}

Frustration leaked out in his tone.

"So you need help bringing it down?"

{"I need someone to ground it long enough for me to get my teeth around its neck."}

His words drifted out beneath an audible snarl.

"Well I'm in. You don't mind, Buchou?"

"Satooji-san, were you not aware of this?"

"Yeah, the commotion in the north end just reached me, whatever this thing is sure being sneaky. But it wouldn't be the first time something strange slipped it's way into the forest, it must be able to fly or climb if it can give a Black Grim the slip. If you're willing to lend a hand, Gremory-san, I'd be in your debt."

"If Yuuji wants to help, I see no reason to refuse. But as this is a request from our Black Grim-san here, you do understand what making a request from Devils entails, yes?"

{"Yeah, I do. I'll help your Pawn here find a suitable Familiar."}

"And if he decides that you're a suitable Familiar? It's not often a Fey as famous as a Black Grim seeks you out of its own accord."

{"... I have my own circumstances. Sorry, I know it's rude when I'm asking for help, but there's a reason I can't leave."}

Yuuji shrugged.

"I don't mind, but I don't suppose you know any other canines who are less tied down?"

"Yes, Yuuji was interested in the rumors of a moon-eating wolf."

"Buchou, stop trying to get me killed."

{"Did you anger your master?"}

"She hasn't said, but I'm fairly certain. Women are like that sometimes."

"I just want the best possible Familiar for my darling servant, is that so hard to understand?"

{"She's definitely mad. You have struggles of your own, huh?"}

"I do my best."

"I'm still here, Yuuji."

Twitching eyebrow and all.

"You're right Buchou, we should get moving. Lead the way, Ulysse."

Boy and dog walked past the crimson-haired Devil, pointedly not looking at how she tapped her foot in growing irritation.

Akeno let slip an 'ufufu'.

As they walked ahead, Yuuji turned his head to look down at the dog by his side.

"So what was the other reason you asked me for help? You know, the real reason you decided to trust me over the 'Familiar Master'? Was it just the scent you recognized?"

Everyone moved just a little closer, curious.

{"Yeah, like I said, your scent is familiar, so you and I have something in common I suppose."}

"Which part is that?"

{"Your sadness has the same scent as mine."}

… No one spoke for a while.

* * *

 _She was sulking by the river again._

 _After all this time, were they still…?_

 _Oy, Isabel._

 _What's wrong, did they make fun of your hair again?_

" _It's not like I can help it that I have carrot-colored hair, or eyes the color of weeds. God made me this way."_

 _Her dress folded beneath her, Isabel stared out into the water with a sullen expression she should never have to wear, but often did._

 _I'd love you no matter what color your hair was._

 _I wish they could see the Isabel I see, sister._

 _Hmm, what to do, what to do._

 _Oh, a rabbit. Maybe that will cheer her up._

 _Rabbit always cheers me up._

 _... An easy catch._

 _What do you say Isabel, isn't your brother pretty cool?_

 _...She laughed at me._

 _Heh, that's fine._

 _Her laughter is the kind of laughter that makes the world brighter every time you hear it._

 _... I wish she did it more often._

 _I'll just work harder then._

 _I'll just love you more then._

 _Your sadness has no place here, so I'll chase it away as often as I need to, until it loses the way back._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _I wonder where Isabel has wandered off to today? I'd better find her._

" _Hey, that cart hit that girl!"_

 _Isabel?_

 _Isabel where are you?_

 _What's wrong with your-_

 _Isabel!_

 _What's wrong, wake up!_

 _Father, she's not waking up._

 _That's not her bed Father, why is she sleeping beneath all that dirt?_

 _Will it help her get better?_

 _No, I'm not going home._

 _Isabel will be lonely if she wakes up and no one is here._

 _So I'll wait until she does._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Hey, what's going on?_

 _This isn't our village._

 _...Huh, even that didn't wake you up, Isabel?_

 _Well, you always were a heavy sleeper._

 _Just wake up soon alright?_

… _I get lonely too._

* * *

"A cemetery? Satooji-san, can you explain this?"

The peerage were currently standing in the center of what should have been a massive forest clearing, but was instead dominated by row after row of tombstones in various states of disarray.

"Well Gremory-san, I'm sure you're aware that on certain nights, the boundary between the natural and the supernatural wears thin?"

"I'm aware, don't tell me-"

Rias trailed off, staring about the cemetery in shock.

"You have the right of it. Usually it's just people, but sometimes places with enough spirit to them slip through the boundaries as well, which is how you end up with a late eighteen hundreds village cemetery in the Familiar Forest."

Not quite able to digest an entire location simply falling into another world, Yuuji decided to focus on the little things, while Rias, Akeno and Kalawarner were abuzz about the significance, and the rarity, and other things that were probably important to them or something.

"Is that how you ended up here?"

{"Yeah, not just me though, Isabel is here as well."}

"Isabel? Is she…?"

{"My sister. She's further in."}

"Further in?"

Asia was the one who asked, a clear tremor in her voice. A concerned Suu wrapped gooey arms around her shoulders.

{"Yeah, she's been sleeping under the dirt for a while now."}

Yuuji let out a sharp inhale.

"Oi..."

{"Yeah, I could tell. You're waiting for your sister to return as well. Don't give up on her."}

Yuuji flinched as a pair of arms wrap gently around one of his, Akeno pulling close with worried eyes.

Only then did he realize how silent the clearing was.

"Yuuji?"

"I'm okay Akeno. I'm just not as over it as I thought I was."

"I can understand if you want to wait, but…?"

"Yeah, we'll talk later. Thanks Akeno."

{"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. Just now, you understand why it was you I went to."}

"Yeah, I get it."

"Umm, Ulysse-san… Is your sister, well is she?"

Asia had stepped forward timidly. Yuuji immediately took pity on her.

"Is your sister a dog as well?"

"YUUJI!"

Several people groaned along with Rias' reprimand, and Akeno looked up at him reproachfully, her arms tightening ever so slightly.

Ulysse let out a huffing noise that was probably the canine equivalent of laughter.

{"No, she's human. I didn't realize I wasn't until some time after I woke up here. We slipped through while I was dozing off, but Satooji found me a little while later. I don't really understand why I turned into one of these 'Black Grim', but Satooji suggested that the transition between worlds might have had something to do with it."}

As several heads turned his way, Satooji gave a slight, sad shake of his head.

Before anyone could quite gather their thoughts, Satooji suddenly perked up, with a wide grin and an odd shimmer in his eyes.

"Not just any Black Grim, show 'em!"

"Show them what? You mean this?"

Everyone's heads whipped back towards the dog, as this time, his voice had been as audible as anyone else's.

Standing in the dogs place was a slender young man with wavy black hair, tanned skin, and red eyes.

A black, old-fashioned jacket was buttoned up to his neck, and he had black pants and boots.

"Ulysse?"

"Yeah, apparently I spent so long thinking I was human, that when I was turned into a Grim the magic made that a little more true. Satooji gets really worked up over it, so it seems that's not something normal."

"Not normal!? Not normal he says!? There's _never_ been a case of a Black Grim with shape-shifting, the species is a rarity among Fey because they _can't_."

Satooji was waving his arms and hopping excitedly about.

"Yeah, he gets like that every time. I'm going to go ahead and change back now, I've only had this form for a month or two so I'm still uncomfortable on two legs."

As he shifted back in a shadowy swirl, Yuuji tilted his head to one side.

"A month or two? So you haven't been here that long?"

Satooji gave a suspicious cough, but Yuuji was pretty sure he heard 'dog years'.

{"Something like that. The light is always the same, so it's hard to keep track."}

"Yeah, this place is weird."

"Say, Ulysse-kun, how do you know Suu? Is she one of those little ones you mentioned?"

Raynare had stepped up, hand behind her back as she leaned forward a bit.

"Ulysse... keep… safe!"

Nodding emphatically, Suu waved her hands around in the air with a big smile, splattering slime everywhere.

{"That's the gist of it, actually. Her and some of the smaller folk living around here took notice of me and poked their heads in. They were a bit scared of me at first, since I have a tendency to chase small things, but once they realized I didn't mean any harm they relaxed a bit.. I've been keeping them safe from some of the larger predators."}

"He says 'larger predators' in a casual way, but I've seen the bite marks on _full-sized_ Oni that tried to throw their weight around."

Ulysse responded in a firm tone.

{"Isabel was bullied a lot, so I don't have any tolerance for it. Besides, the little ones are very welcoming, so I'm sure they'll be good friends for her once she wakes up."}

"Yeah... I'm sure they will."

Raynare smiled sadly.

{"I was only that far away from her because Suu wandered off. She roams a lot when she's hungry."}

"Sorry… Ulysse."

Suu's antenna drooped a bit.

{"It's okay Suu. You're not going to be living here anymore though, so be careful not to wander that far from Asia, alright?"}

"Kay!"

She perked up immediately, smile wide once more.

"Company."

Koneko was stiff as a board, eyes wide and fists clenched.

{"Yeah, it's watching us. Don't look now, but it's in the branches behind us."}

"What… is that thing? It's smells wrong. There's too many scents jumbled together."

{"I don't know either, I've never gotten a good look at it. But it's not something that should exist."}

Yuuji had slipped a small mirror out of his pocket, angling it backwards subtly while hiding it in his palm.

Slowly, to get a glimpse of what they were facing.

 _ **Stitches.**_

Stitches and fur and white, spindly limbs and…

 _ **Long, flowing hair the burnt orange of autumn leaves.**_

"Buchou, what's the plan?"

"If Ulysse-san needs us to ground it, then we need to drive it somewhere suitable and keep it there. Any ideas, Ulysse-san?"

{"West of here is a high cliff with a steep overhang. If you can drive it to the foot of the cliff, it won't be able to escape. Not fast enough, anyways."}

"Will it follow us?"

{"Probably, it can smell your Familiars. Keep them as close as you can."}

Asia hugged Suu tightly, who returned the hug with a watery smile that suggested she didn't quite understand the significance.

"Yeah, you're probably having such trouble finding a Familiar because of how big your group is. More outgoing types like Slimes don't mind numbers, but for something like Kazami-san wants, they'll avoid big groups."

Satooji had moved to the front of the group, flipping through his massive book as he lectured those present.

"Well, I don't like it, but we'll have to split up. Groups of two, spread out and see if you can catch wind of anything interesting. I don't want any of my precious servants going home without a Familiar."

"Yes, Buchou!"

The group split off, going their separate ways.

A pair of dull green eyes watched from the shadows above, sizing up each separate pair before making it's choice and crawling off .

Focussed as it was, it missed the golden eyes watching it in turn.

* * *

The little Slime Girl walked along, swinging its arms with exaggerated movements and making watery hums, oblivious to the sticks and stones it would brush against, and subsequently take along for the ride.

Beside it, the little bright haired Devil was huddled in on herself as she walked, flinching and jumping slightly at every strange noise from the undergrowth, clearly uncomfortable away from the larger group.

It didn't seem to understand what the silencing of the forest meant, and the Slime was too busy humming to hear.

But the Devil did seem to realize something was very, very wrong.

And it was right.

A seething mass of dark fur and grasping pale limbs pounced on it from above, bearing it screaming to the ground.

A pair of jaws opened far too wide, ready to rip and tear, and closed with an awful snap.

... Full to the brim with leaves and loam.

"As if we'd let Asia wander off, idiot."

A cacophony of sharp cracks filled the air and shredded the earth, shrapnel flying everywhere as the creature hurled itself airborne.

It reached out a pair of long, slender limbs to grasp the thick branch and pull itself into the trees, only to fall with the wood grasped in its hands as it was neatly severed by something that whirled and glinted through the air.

"I can't exactly blame you for your choice of targets, but I think I'll be a little selfish and do it anyways."

It landed on all six limbs, spinning to face its attackers.

The young male Devils from before, one dark of hair and eye, the other as pale as its intended victim.

The female and the Slime were nowhere to be found.

Getting a full view of it for the first time, Kiba blanched, even as he summoned another blade.

Someone had taken a massive, hairy arachnid, and removed it's limbs and head.

Crudely stitched in that heads place was the pale, bare torso of a woman, with a young, ginger-haired girls head stitched onto that.

Each leg hand been replaced with several segments of human arms, bent in the mockery of a spiders and ending in filthy, delicate white hands which someone had taken the time to paint the nails a sickening, rosy red.

"Someone has a shitty hobby."

"Poor taste indeed, Yuuji-kun."

"Let's get this over with so we don't have to look at it anymore."

"Agreed."

Blades and bullets tore through the clearing, driving the monstrosity back.

Westwards.

* * *

"Ara ara, Monster-san, I'd be hurt if you stood me up."

A crack of lightning cut the crawling horror off as it attempted to spring into the trees once more, but when it reversed its momentum to spring in a new direction, a sapling clipped it and sent it spinning to the dirt.

"Heads up?"

Koneko already had her hands on another log.

It scrabbled away on all six limbs as a line of dark pink light-spears drew a line behind it, making noise for the first time with a strangled mixture of hiss and groan.

"Hmm, it doesn't seem to like the light. Raynare, Kalawarner, you take point."

"Roger!."

"Understood."

Everywhere it went, someone was there, cutting it off, forcing its ungainly body to scuttle along the ground, gangly pale limbs working furiously and stitches straining.

From the start it had been in Rias' trap, as their 'splitting' of the group was little more than basic illusion magic and ventriloquism.

Whatever this thing was, 'smart' wasn't it.

Eventually, it found itself at the base of a towering cliff that rose above the treeline, hemmed in by its attackers.

It tensed and reared, waving spindly limbs in a threatening gesture.

This gave the girls in the group their first clear look at it, and they recoiled from the wretched thing, even as they tensed in readiness.

Rias gave a sharp hiss while Asia huddled behind Kalawarner, trembling behind the taller woman as she stiffened in disgust.

"What kind of monster makes a Chimera like this? What use could it possibly…?"

"It's already dead, Buchou."

Koneko's terse voice was muffled, the shaking little girl having clamped one hand over her nose.

A sharp tearing nose cut her off, as the stitches on one side of its neck gave way, causing the pale girls' head to list awkwardly to one side like a broken doll.

Without warning, the Chimera sprung into the air, trying to find purchase on the uneven rock, but crackling lightning and seething crimson light destroyed the stone above it, sending it the the earth with a shower of stone.

Something squelched and cracked as it hit the ground, and Raynare twisted away from the group, joining Asia on the ground retch on hands and knees.

Koneko was huddled up in a shivering ball, eyes screwed tightly shut, while Kiba stood pale-faced watch with blade at the ready.

A long, low growl echoed off the stone, as a huge black dog stalked forward, the group parting around him like waves.

The creature twisted and thrashed its way upright to meet the new threat.

Glassy green eyes seemed to brighten in recognition as the Grim froze in his tracks, every hair standing on end.

{"... Isabel?"}

Ulysse began to shake his head from side to side, as if trying to dispel the vision before him.

{"No. No. Anything but this-"}

A very human-like scream of despair spiked sharply into the heads of those gathered, hands clapping over ears in a futile attempt to drown out the noise.

This time, the words carried vision with them, little snapshots of a black dog and his owner, a pale girl with hair the color of autumn leaves, and eyes like glittering emeralds.

Several choked sobs slipped out from behind him, but Yuuji paid them no heed.

Instead, he stepped forward, face as blank and disinterested as always, to run his hand through thick black fur.

As if unaware of the dogs distress, Yuuji's clear voice rang out in a tone more suited to talks of the weather than stitched up abominations.

"That's not Isabel."

"She's gone."

Several pairs of eyes fixed on him from behind, snapped out of their grief for just a moment.

"Isabel is not coming back."

"So, what are you going to do about that _thing_ that's trampling all over her memory?"

The back beneath his hand stiffened.

A long sigh drifted through their heads like an autumn breeze.

{"That's enough Isabel. This time, sleep as long as you want."}

An odd shudder passed through the Chimera, as while the body bared its nails aggressively, the head offered a soft, almost relieved smile.

That smile vanished from sight as a dark shape tore the human torso right off its body.

Red orbs loomed above the pale girl on the ground, a girl who seemed much smaller without her monstrous grafts.

A shaking hand lifted towards Ulysse' face as bright green eyes glittered with concern.

{"I'll be okay, Isabel. Rest now."}

He leaned into the soft hand that brushed once across his cheek before falling limp.

Warm green eyes drifted closed with a contented sigh.

A long, mournful howl echoed for miles around.

* * *

"No luck, huh? Well, Asia made a friend and we were able to help you out, so I'd say the trip was worth it."

{"Sorry. I'd go with you if I could, but after what happened I can't leave the little ones unprotected."}

"Nah, I understand. Be sure to introduce me to all your dog friends next time."

{"Sure thing."}

Several small rustles were heard from the trees and underbrush, snapping the group out of its quiet melancholy.

"Ussee!"

"Ulysse!"

"Uusee!"

Several adoring coos rang out in response to the dozens of small creatures that had hopped, crawled and fluttered their way out of hiding.

Rabbits with unicorn horns, tiny walking mushrooms with big button eyes, and petite winged children that were obviously Fey of some kind.

{"E-everyone?"}

"Ussee go!"

A tiny oni just like Akeno's pointed an imperious finger, which was prompted a dozen others to imitate.

"Ussee have fun!"

Several waved.

"Ussee visit!"

More waves, until all the little ones gathered were following suit.

{"But I can't just leave-"}

"We can take them all with us."

Rias spoke with the absolute conviction of a King and an odd glitter in her eyes, her Queen and Rook nodding empathetically along.

"That won't be necessary, _Gremory_. Though the offer _is_ appreciated."

A honeyed lilt drifted through the clearing, drawing attention to the elegant, bewitchingly female form draped across a high branch.

The woman offered a sultry, inviting smile, one hand languidly playing with pale blue hair as a set of heavy-lidded, burning blue eyes glittered down at them.

She was wearing a small blue dress and little else, and her curving horns and long, reptilian tail that wove in the air above were just a shade darker than her hair.

{"Tia-san? You're awake already? Usually you sleep for more than a month or two."}

Ulysse' voice carried a not of confusion.

"Hmm.. Yes. I just woke up from my _little_ nap and noticed that your corner of the forest seemed all astir. So I thought I'd come check and see if you were alright?"

'Tia' seemed faintly amused by something he'd said.

{"I'm fine, Tia-san. Thanks for checking."}

The woman's eyes narrowed searchingly for a moment before she seemed to relax, smiling once again.

"So I see. Now if that little Devil over there is the one who helped you out, why don't you do what you want to do and thank him properly?"

{"But I can't-"}

"Oh, but you can. Ddraig hasn't surfaced for a while now, so I think that lazy lizard has skipped a generation. Albion will pout I'm sure, but it means I should have a century or two to watch over these little darlings. Besides, hanging around _that_ won't do you any favors, so run along now."

The dismissive 'shooing' gesture was marred somewhat by her gentle smile, and the numerous cute things now playing on her back.

{"... Thanks, Tia-san. That's a big relief."}

Ulysse lifted his eyes to meet Yuuji's.

{"Still on the market?"}

"You're in luck, we were just about to close down shop for the day."

"Take good care of him, little Soldier. Though… I suppose if you can look at me without quivering you must have some promise."

It was Yuuji's turn to look at her in confusion.

"Quivering? You're obviously not here to hurt anyone so why-"

Yuuji whipped his head back to discover that every Devil and Fallen Angel in the clearing were pale-faced and trembling (though he was pretty sure Satooji was from excitement).

When he turned back, nothing remained to mark the woman's presence but drifting, sultry laughter.

Unseen by all, a pair of blue orbs had locked onto a pair of startled, supposedly concealed gold, but offered nothing more than a playful wink before she vanished.

Yuuji looked down at Ulysse.

Ulysse looked up at Yuuji.

They both shrugged.

In the shadows of a high branch, their golden eyed observer rose from its perch and stretched the shivers out, casting one lingering glance over the group below.

A lingering glance over the golden eyed figure she'd come here to see.

* * *

The group took some time to recover their wits before the Familiar ritual.

Apparently, Ulysse' friend Tia was something called a 'Chaos Karma Dragon', which sounded like it was probably a big deal.

The names she had dropped apparently belonged to something called 'Heavenly Dragons' which might be like Angels or something if they were heavenly?

It wasn't really important, because they were clearly Dragons and not dogs.

Yuuji hadn't quite figured out what all the fuss was about, but he didn't care enough to ask.

Akeno had just finished set-up, since Yuuji had such a low amount of magic, she'd be helping a lot more than with Asia.

His girlfriend gave him a nod, and he stepped forward as Ulysse padded into the glowing circle, that faded into a dull grey as it synced with Yuuji.

"In the name of Kazami Yuuji, I order you. Accept this contrast and become my Familiar."

{"A name is required, one that you give me."}

Yuuji thought long and hard, before calmly blurting out the first name that came to mind.

"Ruth."

The ritual concluded, Yuuji unheeding of the strange looks he was getting as he scratched behind his Familiar's ears.

"Congrats… Ru!"

Suu offered a slightly gooey hug, which Ruth leaned into without complaint.

{"Thanks, Suu. Guess we'll be together a while longer."}

"Yay!"

Tearing her eyes away from the heartwarming scene now that her work was done, Akeno asked a question that had been on the mind of her and several others.

"Satooji-san, how long was 'Tia-san's' little nap really?"

Satooji scratched his head for a moment.

"30 years, give or take?"

* * *

The sun had sunk beneath the horizon by the time the Gremory group had returned home, new familiars in tow.

Most of them had decided to turn in at that point, but Yuuto had found himself still antsy for some inexplicable reason, and had decided to go for a walk before bed.

Which was why Rias was currently sitting in the common room in her red negligee, almost halfway through an essay not due for several weeks.

On nights when her peerage were taking requests, Rias was always the last one to go home, patiently waiting for each of her little family to return before returning herself.

Now that they all lived under the same roof? Rias found herself unable to even _think_ about sleep until she knew everyone was, if not asleep, at least home safely.

Which was why the dread creeping up her spine was creeping higher and higher.

Yuuto had been gone an hour.

Late night walks like this were actually a fairly frequent pastime of her Knight, Yuuto valuing his alone time far more than one would expect from the most popular (and probably socially apt) boy in school.

A quick text five minutes prior had so far gone unanswered

. Not unusual, but she was feeling a little more paranoid than normal.

A necromantic Chimera, and a run-in with the strongest Dragon King could do that.

Sure, Satooji was following up with it and they were a long way from the Familiar Forest, but that was neither here nor there when it came to maternal instinct.

Five more minutes and then she would call. Maybe Yuuto was just stuck in his own head again.

He had a habit of withdrawing inwards when he thought no one was watching, but she had yet to uncover any more despite the constant prodding over the years.

Yuuto put far much effort into not giving her cause to worry for her to not worry about him.

* * *

It was a lovely night.

Not a cloud in sight, and a cool breeze that whispered to those willing to listen.

Kiba wondered if the Exorcist in front of him appreciated a nighttime stroll as much as he did.

No, probably not.

A shame, really.

Good thing Freed was dead though, or Kiba would have thought the snow-white hair and the clothes to be a dead giveaway, mask or not.

Freed would have not so much killed the mood, so much as killed it, done unpleasant things to the corpse, and danced a jig on what remained.

"How do you do, Exorcist-san? Anything I can help you with?"

"Yeah, you could help me test this out. Mind keeping me company, Devil-san?"

Kiba might have noticed the vaguely familiar tone of voice if it weren't for the fact that the Exorcist had begun to unwrap the object he was holding.

The wrapping fell to the ground, and his instincts as a Devil screamed at him to flee.

Not that he would listen.

Not when there was a fragment of that wretched _thing_ right in front of him.

Blue eyes hardened into flecks of ice.

 _ **"Where… did you find that sword?"**_

* * *

... Speed dial it was. Yuuto was number 3.

Answering machine.

Rias left a message, not seeming to realize that the pen in her had was drawing nervous circles on an essay page she would have to start over.

Another minute, another text, another call.

Nothing.

This had happened once before, when Yuuto had found himself sitting in an out-of-the-way park and dozed off.

When she found him, Rias had taken a break from yelling at him long enough to give Akeno a turn, and Yuuto hadn't been allowed to sleep at home that night (week), because his home was well out of arm's length from her.

Akeno.

She needed Akeno, and Yuuji too.

They were probably in the same room, so that made things easier.

Small mercies.

* * *

Demonic steel hissed through the air, only to be deflected by sacred steel once again.

Kiba leapt back to regain distance, and once again the Exorcist let him.

Kiba threw aside the useless hump of metal, and once again the Exorcist let him.

This was the third of such exchanges.

Kiba's swords could only handle a handful of head-on collisions before the holy aura of that thing, that _Excalibur fragment_ dulled the edges too much to be of use.

If Kiba was his usual self, he'd simply have minimized direct clashes.

But he wasn't, so instead he let out a mirthless chuckle that bared far too many teeth and stretched his hand out to the side.

Something dark thrashed and coiled where his heart should be, and leaked an unseen poison that made the air around his hand crack and wither.

"I've been saving this for a special occasion, but allow me to throw your words back at you. I want to help me test this out, mind keeping me company?"

The space around his hand continued to seethe and twist in agony. Kiba's voice hissed out a cruel incantation.

A foul curse that made the skies tremble.

" **This is the sound when dreams falter."**

The veins on Kiba's hand darkened, inky black on pale skin.

" **This is the sound when hope dies."**

Then they ruptured, spilling blood and rust into the air in obscene, twining tendrils.

" **This is our…** _ **Angelic Howl**_ **."**

And then they wove together into a single _sword._

Angelic Howl had no blade.

Filthy orange rust and hardened crimson blood wound together endlessly as if rusting, pulsing, blood-drenched barbwire had been finely woven into the shape of a sword.

The gaps in the weapon were empty and dark, as if refusing the entry of any light at all.

As if that wasn't foul enough, the blade began to moan and sob in a very human agony.

The Exorcist watched in morbid fascination as the 'hilt' _stabbed_ its way back through the Devil's hand, macabre tendrils stitching themselves to him.

Blue eyes stained with red flicked back open to regard the masked figure, a smile stretching far too wide as he drew himself back up, unheeding of the blood and rust that dripped from his hand.

"This is just a little something I came up with. To _**bury**_ anything and anyone who has anything to do with those swords."

Whatever the Exorcist was going to say was cut off by the sound of Angelic Howl screaming its way through the air.

* * *

"Rias? What's going on?"

Yuuji groaned and sat upright, Akeno making half-formed noises of protest at his side.

"Yuuto's missing."

At the breathless explanation, Akeno seamlessly transitioned from 'half-awake' to 'half-dressed', violet eyes alight with worry.

"What do you mean missing?"

"It's been an hour and a half since he left for his walk."

"Is that a long time?"

Yuuji asked, quickly pulling on the clothes a fully dressed Akeno had tossed his way.

"For him to not respond to a single text or call? Yes. He's always been prompt."

"Should I wake the others, Buchou?"

"Not yet Akeno, he could just be in a dead zone or have forgotten to charge his phone. Let's not put the whole house in an uproar quite yet. I'm still hoping that my worries are for nothing."

"If they are, you'll have to scold our darling little brother lots, won't you?"

"You're damn right I'm going to scold him for making me worry."

"Ruth?"

Yuuji turned to the dog sitting a the foot of his bed.

{"Yeah, leave it to me."}

The trio of Devils ran out the house on his heels, the heightened senses of a Black Grim painting a scent trail so distinct you could almost see it.

* * *

The masked Exorcist gave a slight hiss as another slight miss became a glancing, tearing blow, the hideous weapon the Devil swung contorting and reaching out as it hissed past in a vicious thrust, as if the sword itself was _actively_ seeking to harm him.

He did manage to cleanly duck the attempt at separating head from shoulders, and leapt back before the follow up could splash any of his guts onto the concrete.

"Huh, what a scary sword."

"Scary, is it? Are you sure? Maybe you should take a closer look before you judge."

"I'll pass. That's enough playing around for now."

"Oh, what tricks does Exorcist-san have up his sleeves? Don't think it will help, but I'll be polite and wait."

The Devil grinned at him.

"You're not the only one with a scary sword. Do you know the name of this particular fragment?"

"Can't say I know, or care."

"Well, it's called Excalibur _Nightmare_."

.

.

.

When nothing seemed to follow the unneeded proclamation, Kiba took a step forward, scowling.

He stopped cold at a small tug on his sleeve.

" _Isaiah?"_

Another tug.

" _Hey, Isaiah?"_

No.

No.

Dear God no-

" _Isaiah?"_

Unable to bear it anymore, Kiba slowly turned his head, trembling at the insistent voice.

His vision led his eyes down to the tiny figure reaching up to tug his sleeve.

" _Hey, Isaiah…"_

" _ **Why did you leave us to die?"**_

The masked Exorcist calmly walked up to the Devil, and with an almost gentle motion, drove the sword into his side.

The Devil didn't notice.

He was too busy screaming.

* * *

The second Ruth announced the tang of blood on the air, Rias put on a frantic burst of speed, running faster than she ever had before in a flash of pure, blind panic, Yuuto's name tearing hoarsely from her throat.

Unheeding of her servants warning, completely unaware as Akeno kept on her heels, Yuuji and Ruth fanning out to keep watch and intercept if need be.

Rias skidded to a halt in front of a dark smear upon the sidewalk.

Silent for the first time since her panicked sprint, that was when she heard the sobbing.

She found him in an alleyway, curled on his side in the fetal position.

Whimpering and sobbing in a pool of his own blood with delirious, bloodshot eyes fixed on a sight that no one else could share.

But alive... her precious little brother was still alive.

Rias dropped to her knees, heedless of the blood and filth marring legs suddenly too weak to support her weight, and drew Yuuto up into her arms, cradling him against her even as her limited healing magic struggled to close the smoking, narrow hole in his side.

Her sobs intermingled with his as he weakly returned her embrace, not quite seeing her but still seeking comfort.

She shuddered as a teary-eyed Akeno _splashed_ down at her side, softly glowing hands pressed against Yuuto's side, dimly aware of Yuuji's phone call to rouse their healer.

The wound hissed and smoked, and the combined efforts of both Rias and Akeno served to just barely stem the flow until Asia arrived.

By the end of the night, it had taken enough Twilight Healing for Asia to keel over from exhaustion, and a blood transfusion from Yuuji, that he completed with Kalawarner's help, to bring Yuuto out of danger.

No one was quite sure what to make of the tattered, gruesome holes in his right hand, but at least they were a little easier to heal.

She would have remained by his side all night if she'd been allowed.

Yuuji had other ideas.

"That's enough Rias. We're all here with him, so you and Akeno need to go get cleaned up."

Rias shook her head vehemently, breathing still fast and shallow. Before she even realized what had happened, he had firmly guided them both from the room.

"That's not important he-"

Yuuji filled her vision, dark orbs staring deeply into hers.

"Rias, you're scaring them. Please."

"Scaring... them?"

Her hands were cold. Why were her hands so cold? Why were they covered with blood?

 ** _Yuuto's blood._**

A strangled sob mingled with the pounding in her ears.

And then she saw it out of the corner of her eyes.

Saw _her_ out of the corner of her eyes.

Quivering beside his bed, one tiny hand grasping his.

Staring at her with wide golden eyes, hunched so low that she couldn't get any smaller.

Koneko.

Slowly, she turned her head to see Akeno trembling at her side, eyes puffy and a dark patch of red where she'd bit clean through her lip.

A frowning, paler than normal Asia, passed out at Yuuto's bedside, with blanket and a concerned Suu draped over her shoulders.

Up the hall, Raynare and Kalawarner stood guard at the top of the stairs, but even from here she could see the shaking in the smaller Fallen's knees.

The world snapped back into focus as she realized just how distraught her _family_ was. Rias closed her eyes and drew a deep, long breath.

"I'm okay now. Come, Akeno, let's get cleaned up. Koneko… will you stay?"

The little Rook stiffened, but upon seeing Rias' calm face, visibly relaxed and gave a mute nod.

"Yuuji, keep them safe."

Eyes narrowed into thin, cold slits, Yuuji gave a nod and stalked off, briefly bringing her back to the night he had sworn to save her.

Ruth rose up out of nowhere, pacing at his side with the same quiet menace.

"Good. Come along now, Akeno."

"Yes, Buchou."

Quietly, Akeno followed her as she walked down the hallway.

At the top of the stairs, she paused briefly at the side of the two Fallen Angels, who were sitting on the top of the steps with the older cradling the younger to her chest.

Raynare hadn't been able to take anymore, and without trying to speak over the muffled sobs, Kalawarner offered her a compassionate gaze and a slow shake of the head.

Rias had made it to the first landing and around the corner before she started to give out.

"Akeno."

Her whisper was enough, and her best friend pressed against her, and arm looping around her waist as her own slipped around the shorter girls shoulders.

They leaned there for a moment before they were ready to move.

It took them a long time to get to the baths, and a longer time to get themselves clean.

For some reason, the blood just wouldn't wash off.

* * *

Kiba screamed himself awake at the break of dawn, jerking the occupants of his crowded room awake.

Rias, who had been passed out with her upper body draped beside his, caught him in her arms and held him close, one of his hands still wrapped by Koneko's.

Akeno crawled onto the bed and sat against his other side, hemming him in with warm, protective bodies.

Voice shaky, Kiba relayed the events of that night.

When he got to the part where the Holy Sword's name had been revealed, his breath hitched and his voice dropped to a deadened whisper.

The girl's grips tightened as they came to realize his shaking was no longer fear or pain.

Yuuji stormed into the room then, eyes cold and cruel.

They lightened briefly upon seeing Kiba awake, but hardened again as he strode forward and handed Rias a rolled up, wax sealed missive.

She broke the seal and read the short message over quickly, knuckles whitening as her grip tightened, the contents only confirming the worst.

Fragments of Excalibur had been stolen, and the Churches representatives sent to _her_ town to retrieve them had requested a meeting.

Rias took a vindictive moment to seriously contemplate the value of murdering the representatives and mailing their ashes to the Vatican out of spite.

From the knife-edge tension in the room, she was far from the only one.

* * *

 **That chapter just kept growing and growing, but I'm pretty satisfied with the result.**

 **Our Familiars are Suu from Daily Life with Monstergirls, and Ruth from Ancient Magus Bride.**

 **The fluff little bringer of misfortune was Kyubey of Madoka Magica, and the 'moon-eating wolf that Rias was so enamored with was a reference to Hati, a great wolf who pursues the moon-chariot in Norse mythology.**

 **The golden-eyed observer that only Tiamat managed to notice is no one at all, and in no way relevant to the story.**

 **Next time, the Church and local Devils will meet peacefully and uneventfully to cordially discuss their mutual issues.**

 **By the way, Kiba's Angelic Howl is a reference to one of the darkest chapters in Fruits of Grisaia. And while the crossover never happened, but definitely should, the weapons form was somewhat inspired by Silent Hill.**

 **Expect a bit more of a wait between this chapter and the next, the doctor tells me that all the cool kids wear wrist braces, also for tendonitis but mostly for style, and it's the Christmas season so I'll probably be a bit tied up. Safe to expect the chapter in the earlier half of January, but I'll publish sooner if I can get away with it.**

 **Hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave a comment if any questions or criticisms come to mind. I always take the time to reply.**

 **PS, the major inspiration behind this chapter title was mostly sarcasm.**


	9. That Which Haunts Us

**Some of you might be pleased to know that I am, in fact, still alive. Apparently my workflow isn't strong enough to easily get back into things after a break, so I'll try to minimize those for now.**

 **This chapter turned out surprisingly heavy in some places, but there's still some humor and light-hearted moments interspersed. Looking back, that mixture of cheer and trauma might just make it a normal chapter.**

* * *

Kiba wasn't the only one who spent his night in a feverish agony.

At the same time Yuuji was enlisting Kalawarner's steady hands for help in a blood transfusion (with himself as the donor) a young, white-haired man laid sweating and thrashing on an improvised operating table.

"Fascinating, fascinating indeed. This is as much alchemy as it is a curse, to turn damaged tissue to this… truly fascinating."

Admittedly, the operation would have been progressing at a smoother rate if the paunchy old man, looming over him like some obscene scarecrow, wasn't busy taking notes and making observations.

"Sure… you're a GAH! Doctor…?"

"Doctor? Why would I limit myself so? No dear boy, I am a _scientist_ … and I suppose you're lucky that your Affinity is artificial… oh but such a shame! I'll have to see if I can find something more natural… an Exorcist won't do unless they're a natural wielder… ah, but when the war… oh hoh! Is this premature rigor mortis…?"

Forceps dug a bit too deep, and a strangled scream tore the air.

A simple strap was forced into the patient's mouth, preventing him from biting his own tongue and mucking up the test- injuring himself further.

"...Truly wondrous, I must ask Kokabiel to allow me to keep dear Isaiah! That such a gentle boy could produce something so vicious! Truly wondrous!"

The muffled, gritted out noises sounded like words, clearly the boy was interested in his work.

Ah, the curiosity of the young was truly their greatest gift.

"Ah, what a wonderful thing it was! Angelic Howl, was it not? Well, you see my dear boy, your wounds, your blood, your torn flesh…"

The old man loomed closer, gleeful malice and academic fervor twisting his features.

"... _Are all rusting._ Little shards of that _curse_ he calls a sword were buried in your body, and it's rusting your body like pig iron left in the rain. _How_ _beautiful!_ It's draining what little Holy energy you have to feed the curse…"

The self-proclaimed scientist threw back his head in ecstatic, joyous laughter.

"Why, if you were an Angel or something truly Holy, by now your blood would be poison and-! How delightful! How truly delightful! To think Isaiah's escape would bring such fortune!"

A thoughtful pause, the implement held within torn, oozing flesh left forgotten, or perhaps ignored.

"Ah, but having you die so ignominiously at this early stage simply won't do… but you're in luck boy! You can keep your arm…"

A saintly, beatific smile crossed his face, and for the first time, his white-haired patient shivered.

"At least... **_after I trim off the excess_**."

Kiba would never have the chance to know, but he wasn't the only one to scream himself awake with the dawn.

* * *

Wielding a Holy Sword was a matter of compatibility.

While it wasn't uncommon for them to allow more than one at a time, it was a viewed as an unshakeable fact that the Swords alone chose their wielders.

Naturally, such wielders were almost as scarce as the swords themselves, so the Church took it upon themselves to overcome that.

Thus, the Holy Sword Project.

Under the direction of Archbishop Valper Galilei, the Holy Sword Project was intended to artificially expand the number of people that could wield the Excalibur Fragments kept by the Church.

In the end, the project was deemed a failure, and Valper Galilei excommunicated from the Church with a brand-new title in honor of his achievements.

The Genocide Archbishop.

The 'fortunate' orphans that survived his cruel experiments were poisoned in their rooms, with only one child managing to escape the facility.

That child didn't make it far before the gas did its work, but before he could draw his last breath, a young red-headed Devil found him lying in the snow, offering him a new life, and a new name.

Kiba Yuuto.

It seems that the men of the Gremory household had far more in common than they thought.

* * *

"I still don't think you should be here for this."

"Buchou, I'm fine."

"-But I don't want us anymore separated than we have to be."

"Buchou, I'm fine."

"-You can stand there though, no the other side where Akeno is standing."

"Buchou…"

"-Yes, good idea Koneko, sit in front of him on the…"

"Rias."

For once, Kiba was the one to initiate contact, dropping both hands onto Rias' shoulders to lock eyes with her, cutting off her fretting before she worked herself up any further.

Right when she was about to speak up, Kiba cut her off by calmly drawing her into a firm hug, which was soon returned with a great deal more force.

"I'm okay, Nee-san. We're all okay."

Kiba began to rub calming circles on her lower back.

"Please, please don't start anything with them. I know you're not fully healed, so please don't get hurt again."

Rias couldn't quite keep the desperation out of her voice.

"... I'll do my best, Nee-san."

Rias only let him go when there was a knock at the door.

Rias was in her desk as if nothing had happened, the very picture of aloof elegance, and Kiba was behind Koneko, leaning against the wall just enough to appear relaxed without seeming disrespectful.

"We've been expecting you. You may enter."

Kiba's eyes narrowed as the door swung open, but his expression returned to watchful neutrality as two white cloaked figures entered the room with hoods pulled low.

They lowered their hoods, revealing a girl with blue hair, green highlights and a cold gaze, while her slightly shorter partner had light brown twintails and a smile as condescending as it was carefree.

The blue-haired girl had a large, bandaged object over one shoulder, while the other girl had nothing visible that could be viewed as a weapon.

Both immediately stiffened at seeing the two Fallen Angels standing rigid behind the couch, squared so that Raynare was behind Yuuji and Kalawarner behind Asia.

The bluenette's eyes narrowed towards Rias in accusation.

"You keep the company of the Grigori? An admission of guilt, Gremory?"

Unfazed, Rias took her time responding, indulging their outburst with a gracious air.

"There are no Grigori present. These ones have lost their rights to any privilege or protection beyond what I allow them to have."

Raynare and Kalawarner, of course, offered no reaction to the cold words of the Gremory heiress, much less a reaction to the Exorcists hostility at all.

Nothing outside the realm of expectation had occurred.

The blue-haired one looked like she wanted to say more, but a nudge from the brunette cut her off.

"Please, have a seat."

Taking the indicated chair at Rias' words, they offered terse nods as a softly smiling Akeno set down steaming teacups in front of them, ever the dutiful host.

Only those familiar with her noticed the not-so-gentle edge to that smile.

Rather than offer any sort of prompt, Rias smiled patiently, allowing them to introduce themselves in their own time.

As anticipated, the blue-haired, stern looking girl spoke up first.

"I am Xenovia Quarta, and this is my partner, Irina Shidou."

Oblivious or uncaring of the tension, Irina offered a cheerful smile and a wave before taking over.

"Recently, the Excalibur Fragments possessed by the Vatican, Protestant Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church have been stolen. Each of the Churches were in possession of two of the seven, with the seventh having been lost long ago. The thieves have been traced here, to Japan."

No one commented on the fact that Excalibur was in seven pieces.

As the only ones unaware had been in Kalawarner's class, it had been easy for her bring them up to speed during lunch break.

"And do you have a culprit?"

Xenovia nodded, taking the reins once more.

"The Grigori."

Accusing eyes turned once more to the Fallen Angels in the room, but they didn't react.

The Exorcists had yet to deviate from their projected course.

"Not just any Grigori, I expect. I trust you have something a bit more concrete?"

"The main culprit is Kokabiel."

 _This_ drew a sharp gasp from Raynare, which unfortunately caught the sharp gaze of Xenovia.

Before she could push the issue, Rias took control once more.

"Oh, a name from the Bible? My town must be a popular destination."

Rias' offered a confident smirk, as if it was neither a particularly unexpected revelation, nor a particular concerning one.

She was bluffing of course, but the Exorcists present were a hundred years too early to see through _that_ facade.

Rias wasn't a Pure-Blooded Devil for nothing.

"The exorcists and priests we've been sending to this town have all been killed."

Rias elegantly arched an eyebrow at that casual admittance.

"Ah, the Church is as honest as always, I see."

Xenovia seemed to have an inkling that she'd just been insulted, but didn't have a firm enough grasp on it to do more than scowl.

From here, it could go several ways.

No one was all that surprised when the direction the conversation took was one of the worst.

"Our request, no our order is for none of the Devils to intrude in our battle for the Excaliburs. In other words, we came here to tell you not to interfere in our business."

The temperature dropped.

With deliberate slowness, Rias took a sip of her tea before responding, any hint of strain vanished in the brief instant the cup concealed her lips.

"I have no issue with your request, beyond it being completely out of the question."

Rias answered, with a prim note of finality.

"What did you just say!?"

Both the Exorcists stiffened, Xenovia with a stormy scowl and Irina the picture of righteous indignation.

No one missed how Xenovia's hand twitched towards her bundled package, or Irina's right hand rose from her lap, reaching across ever so slightly.

Kiba was scowling openly, the Fallen were ready to push themselves off the wall, Koneko had tensed, and Akeno's smile brought with it the sudden scent of ozone.

Asia looked nervous, but Yuuji hadn't moved.

Unbeknownst to the Exorcists, his shadow had stretched itself towards them just a little, and had started to contort around the edges.

Rias' polite smile was tempered by a glacial chill in her blue eyes.

"You freely reveal your failures, and then expect us to believe that this attempt will be any different? What, precisely, grants you such confidence?"

"These."

Xenovia tugged the bandages off the wrapped object with one hand, revealing a huge sword of blue and gold with an hilt more reminiscent of a battle axe than anything else.

Irina swept her cloak aside to reveal a white ribbon around her bicep, that when pulled free straightened and shifted itself into the form of a katana.

Holy energy flooded the room as the Devils tensed further, and Yuuji's shadow grew closer.

"I am the wielder of Excalibur Destruction."

"And mine is Excalibur Mimic! I can change its shape into whatever I want!"

Xenovia sighed and put one hand to her head at her comrades cheery, and wholly unnecessary, explanation.

"Irina, what was the point of sharing that?"

"We're supposed to be building trustworthy relationships with the Devils here! Besides, it's not like knowing that would help them."

Rias simply took a sip of her tea, the Exorcists too focused on each other to notice how tight her grip of the cup was.

"Oh, so they sent Excaliburs to retrieve Excaliburs? I suppose it's nice to see the Church take things somewhat seriously. I trust the rest of your group has suitable preparations made?"

Rias blinked once as the Exorcists went silent.

"You can't be serious."

"The Church has decided that we alone will be enough."

Before Rias could respond to what seemed insanity to her, help came from an unexpected quarter.

A suspiciously wide-eyed Koneko turned to her with an uncharacteristically quavery tone of voice.

"Buchou… you wouldn't sacrifice us like that… w-would you?"

With her expression shielded from Exorcist eyes, Koneko's feigned distress had vanished behind a tiny smirk and twinkling golden eyes.

Akeno's smile widened just a touch, and Raynare bit her lip.

When had her darling Rook grown so cheeky?

It must be Yuuji's bad influence.

"No, I value all of you too much to send you to your deaths needlessly."

Rias gave her tiny Rook a warm smile.

She'd have to spoil her lots later for that little performance.

...Yuuji too.

Koneko relaxed in her seat with a shaky sigh of relief.

"Don't you think you're looking down on us too much!?"

Irina seemed offended.

Rias couldn't help but wonder why.

"Are you trying to die?"

What foolishness... it reminded her a bit too much of Yuuji.

"Yes."

Irina spoke with firm eyes.

"It's true our odds of surviving against Kokabiel aren't good. I would prefer to, however."

"Xen-chan!"

"We're confident we can at least destroy the Holy Swords though."

"A trump card then? Nothing changes. They've sent a pair of suicidal trainee Exorcists to take on a Cadre whose power is legendary amongst all _three_ Factions, after all their other attempts have failed? Does the Church in fact wish those swords returned?"

"You intend to stand in our way then?"

"You're overestimating yourselves. I have no problem cooperating with serious efforts by the Church, but I'm not going to idly sit by while it blunders around with a blatant attempt to make things worse."

Rias rolled her eyes as she spoke.

"If you wish to see how serious we are, I don't mind a demonstration, with as many of you as you like."

"I think there's a limit to how fool-"

"I volunteer."

Dead silence… of course he would.

Dammit Yuuto, why couldn't you just keep silent a moment longer?

She couldn't even refuse his request, not without looking weak and hesitant in front of these Exorcists.

"Hoh, and who might you be?"

Fearless brown eyes regarded Kiba with a warriors interest.

"Kiba Yuuto. More importantly, your Senpai, though it seems I was deemed a failure."

As Kiba pushed off the wall, demonic steel rose behind him like wings.

"Failure?"

Wary eyes fixed on the hovering blades, which vanished with a teasing shimmer.

"Perhaps rather than 'failure', you could call me a 'leftover'? The Holy Sword Project didn't quite go as intended, it seems."

Kiba's smile had a self-mocking edge as he chuckled, a bitter, mirthless sound.

The Exorcists went pale.

"That-"

"Dibs, by the way."

Yuuji cut them off, one hand raised.

Several heads whipped his way in confusion, but it was Irina who found her voice first.

"Dibs?"

"Yeah, you'll be able to save a little face if the numbers are even."

"What did you just- huh, isn't that?"

Irina had sprung to her feet with an ugly sneer, one hand digging its fingers into her side.

She stopped dead, and her jaw dropped open as she finally got a view of the little blonde who'd been making herself as small as possible.

"It is! Xen-chan, it's Asia Argento!"

Irina pointed excitedly as Asia wilted against Yuuji.

Caught by surprise as well, Xenovia also failed to notice that the air in the room was slowly turning crimson.

"Umm... I-I"

"The witch? She's a Devil now?"

Xenovia rose to her seat, naked curiosity on her face.

Yuuji's beast-like shadow was beginning to move of its own accord.

"Xen-chan, she clearly doesn't believe in our God anymore. How could she?"

"Umm… well- a-actually…"

Asia's already quiet words were muffled a bit by how closely she was pressed to Yuuji.

"No, I can smell the belief on her. I'm good at sensing these kind of things."

"Really!? Well don't worry Asia-chan, I won't tell anyone! A lot people would be really shocked to see how far you've fallen!"

"I...I…"

Xenovia stepped forward.

"Do you really still believe in our God?"

They were far too focussed on their curiosity.

...Too focussed to realize that the air itself had taken on a crimson hue.

"I… I can't just forget it. I've believed in him my whole life."

Xenovia lifted her sword with an expression that looked an awful lot like pity.

"Then you should let me kill you now. I'm sure the Lord will forgive you if you ask."

She took a step forward-

A pink spear of light flew past her eyes, so closely that she nearly lost them both.

" _You little bitch_! Take one more step, I _dare_ you!"

Raynare hissed in fury as she and Kalawarner pushed themselves from the wall with murderous eyes.

In a jagged line that started at the oaken desk and ran, the complete circumference of the room, the clubroom itself _cracked_.

The Exorcists noticed the crimson air just as the windows began to rattle.

Hair fluttering wildly in an unseen breeze, Rias rose from her ruined desk as the air about her began to seethe and _snarl._

"You bring Holy Swords into my home unannounced… admit to sneaking around my territory like thieves in the night... and then you threaten my Bishop? _One more word Exorcists… a_ _ **nd I'll sprinkle your ashes on the Vatican's doorstep**_ _."_

Irina paled and took an unwitting step back. Xenovia, grit her teeth and glared sternly at Rias.

"Is that a threat against the Church, Gremory? That could be taken as a declaration of war."

A concerned Akeno stepped closer to Rias, but the thickening scent of ozone suggested she was torn between de-escalating her King and beating her on the draw.

"I got it!"

Everyone jumped a few inches as Yuuji snapped his fingers, eyes bright with an excitement that seemed blissfully unaware of the mounting hostilities around him.

The crimson light abruptly vanished.

"Y-Yuuji?"

Rias spoke up slowly as all eyes focussed on her Pawn.

Rather than answer her, Yuuji lifted the hand that wasn't shielding Asia to point in Xenovia's direction.

"You're an idiot."

Someone tried to muffle a mirthful snort, but most of them were still flabbergasted at how _pleased_ Yuuji sounded from his little 'revelation'.

"Excuse me!? Don't talk to Xen-chan like that you dirty-"

"It would never come to war."

Yuuji's dull voice carried a note of absolute finality.

"Hoh, what gives you such confidence?"

Xenovia had lowered her sword, but her eyebrow was twitching a bit.

"Which is better for the health of the Church? A three-way war of mutual extinction, or discarding a pair of disobedient trainee's acting of their own accord?"

"B-but we're not! We're here on the Churches orders!"

Irina took a step forward, incensed, and Xenovia held out her arm to stop her.

"Says who? Who, exactly, will believe you if your superiors say otherwise?"

"I… t-that's."

Irina had begun to shake.

"I wonder, if a Holy-maiden could be so easily cast aside… _h_ _ow secure are the likes of you?_ "

"Bastard! That's enough!"

Xenovia pushed her shaking partner behind her, teeth bared in snarl.

"Is it? Then stop wasting time and get outside so we can get this demonstration, and you, out of our hair."

Pouring salt on the wound, Yuuji made a dismissive shooing gesture as he spoke.

Furious, Xenovia gripped a handful of Irina's cloak and all but dragged her from the room.

Yuuji turned back to the other occupants of the room as Rias stared at him, amused but expectant.

"Just doing my job as a Pawn?"

"And that is?"

"Antagonizing people?"

"I think you're missing a few details."

"Not the important ones, obviously."

The smattering of laughter abruptly withered when Kiba stormed from the room.

Yuuji watched him go, before turning back to Rias with an uplifted hand, snapping her out of it before she could fret after her Knight.

"Serious question Buchou."

"I can't wait."

Rias' voice positively dripped enthusiasm.

"How opposed are you to 'accidents'?"

The air quotes he made for emphasis probably weren't necessary.

... Nor were the giggles from several points in the room.

"Yuuji."

"Yes, Buchou?"

"No."

* * *

A secluded forest clearing not all that far from the school.

An innocent enough location, if one wasn't aware that this was the place where unwitting souls went to discover the true meaning of Hell.

In other words, this was the usual Gremory training ground.

Yuuji was the only one without unpleasant memories of this place, because Yuuji was too busy supplying them most of the time.

Today, they'd be using it for a 'demonstration' with the Church representatives.

In other words, sparring matches.

And the match-ups would be…

"Hey Kiba, can I talk to you for a second? I have an idea."

The brooding Knight grudgingly twisted his head towards the other man of the Gremory peerage.

Just far enough to give himself a clear view of the fist careening towards his face.

Kiba hit the dirt a moment later.

"Yuuji!? What the hell was that for!?"

Yuuji waved his hand dismissively at the blonde who was glaring up at him.

"Calm down idiot. Haven't you worried them enough?"

"Worried-!?"

Oh.

Kiba turned his head to the rest of the peerage.

Rias, Akeno, Koneko.

The women he'd grown up alongside, the girls who were his sisters in all but blood.

Struggling to keep their masks in place in front of their unwanted company.

Struggling to keep the _worry_ from showing on their faces.

They couldn't fool him, but suddenly, he kind of wished they could.

... How stupid could he be?

"Yeah. So why don't you cool off, and I'll get the fight with the noisy one out of the way."

"The noisy one?"

Kiba's expression shifted from self-loathing to befuddled as Yuuji pulled him to his feet.

"Yeah, with the weird sword. I don't really want to deal with whatever kind of nonsense an 'Excalibur Mimic' can pull off, so I'm just going to squash her before she can use it."

"You really do have a mean streak, don't you?"

"I'll neither confirm nor deny."

Yuuji strode onto the field, beckoning Irina forward with one finger.

As she skipped her way onto the field, Yuuji realized his fatal error, realized how bad of a match-up this was for him.

He'd even called her the noisy one.

… Right before he'd volunteered to deal with her.

Yuuji turned to glare accusingly at Kiba.

Quickly cluing in, Kiba held up his hands in defence, as Asia bustled over to press an emerald glowing hand to his cheek.

Asia's reproachful (adorable) glare Yuuji's way was promptly ignored.

And then the Exorcist started _talking_ and for the first time, Yuuji was made aware that he was truly among the legions of the damned.

"... I wonder where they go when they die? No Irina, you're just sparring. Oh but if he wants to repent, what should I do? Oh Lord…"

Irina had her hands, filled with the katana form of her Holy Sword, clasped together in prayer as she looked up to the sky and twisted back and forth.

Yuuji turned to Rias, his blank gaze suspiciously heavy, and, she could have sworn, more than a little desperate.

She cleared her throat, grabbing the fighters attention before despair could finish consuming her poor Pawn.

"Are you both ready?"

Both nodded.

"3...2...1… begin!"

Three deafening cracks snapped through the air, and a body fell to the ground.

The hand that wasn't holding a smoking gun was held up to Yuuji's lips.

"Shhhh…"

That was the cue for Irina started wailing in pain, curled up, clutching her stomach and rocking back and forth on the hard ground.

Yuuji cringed a little, having realized too late the insidious trap he had fallen into.

Pain would make anyone noisier.

Why was he dealing with this again?

Kiba better appreciate this.

Xenovia cried out and rushed over to her friend, sword pointed threateningly in Yuuji's direction as she went.

She was more than a little confused when her hand came away dripping a dull grey.

"Paint."

With a long suffering look, Yuuji wandered back to his comrades, attention on one particular person in particular.

Kiba regarded him with a wry chuckle.

"You really weren't fooling around, were you?"

Yuuji let out a dismissive snort at Kiba's question.

"Please, I know better than to steal the show when I'm just an extra. Don't you have some angst to work off?"

"It sounds silly when you say it that way."

Kiba wasn't the only one with a reproachful frown on his face.

"That's because it is."

"You really think my resentment is that easy to let go of?"

A bitter Kiba quickly found that his anger could find no purchase in the face of Kazami Yuuji's complete and utter confusion.

 _Now_ he was feeling more than a little silly.

"Let go of…? Why the hell would you do that?"

"I… I- uh… I really don't know where you're going with this, Yuuji-kun."

"I just wanted you in your right mind."

"My… right mind? For what?"

"The cathartic effects of vengeance by proxy?"

No one was quite sure how they felt about him phrasing that like a question that shouldn't have needed asking.

All except for one of them.

Kiba, observant as he was, gave a whimsical laugh.

"You can't just say things like that, Yuuji-kun."

An eyebrow arched.

"You don't agree?"

"No, I do, it's just that blatant sadism will make Akeno-san too worked up to properly do her job, and Buchou will have to scold her."

The person in question whistled innocently, failing to draw attention away from her reddened cheeks and oddly twinkling eyes.

"Are you Devils done fooling around?"

Xenovia was scowling and drumming her fingers against the hilt of her sword impatiently, standing in the center of the field.

Kiba responded without looking at her.

"Ah, sorry to keep you waiting, Xenovia-san."

When he turned to face her, his face was schooled into the polite, welcoming smile…

 _Of a coiled serpent._

Kiba could almost feel the smug undercurrent in Yuuji's monotone.

"A bit of advice. This isn't a sword fight, and no, accidents aren't allowed. I checked."

"Got it, Yuuji-kun."

His tone was light, but Yuuji noticed that the original members of the ORC all shivered.

Kiba was whistling to himself as he strode out to the center of the field with his opponent.

 _The coils tightened._

"Are you both ready?"

At the nods, Rias began the countdown. Xenovia lifted her sword, Kiba did nothing at all.

The battle began.

 _The jaws opened._

Something cold and sharp was tickling the underside of her exposed chin.

The Devil just outside of arms length seemed to blink in surprise, looking vaguely apologetic, as if he'd just stumbled into a social faux-pas.

... She hadn't even seen him move.

"My apologies, were you not quite ready? Please, take your time."

The coils around her loosened and the fangs receded.

The Devil retreated back a few paces, a patient smile, laced with venom, gracing his handsome features.

 _The serpent coiled itself to spring once more._

Xenovia grit her teeth and swung, Excalibur Destruction sending out a roaring column of golden light that tore through the ground.

The Devil gracefully twirled aside, and Xenovia was forced to block as the same motion sent his sword hurtling pommel-first towards her like a javelin.

He closed the distance before the first blade hit the ground, a second sword already hissing toward her.

This time she was ready, and the unassuming demonic steel shattered before the might of the Holy Sword.

That might did her little good when the empty hand closed around her face, in a move identical to his earlier evasion, only this time it was her that flung through the air, hitting the ground with a bounce and a skid.

His impatient tapping of the foot was accompanied by thin blades erupting from the ground in her direction.

A frantic roll, and the Exorcist bounced back to her feet and glared, the Devil regarding her calmly.

 _The coils tightened._

But now she had distance, and she gathered the power of Excalibur Destruction.

He'd probably survive if she hit him head on, but he'd have no choice but to concede.

His eyes lit up with a strange intensity, and the sword that materialized in his hands was almost as long as he was tall, elongated like some twisted metal skewer.

"Head-to-head? Sounds fun. Let's see how your Holy Sword fares, hmm?"

Mouth set in a grim line, he lowered it like a spear and charged.

Xenovia allowed a small smile at a Devil giving in to Pride, before she swung Excalibur Destruction.

The space in front of her exploded, and the Devil vanished without a sound.

Xenovia shook her head in disappointment.

"What a shame. A blade like that negates your only advantage."

"Agreed, head-on against a weapon like that is foolish. "

The soft voice behind her led to Xenovia whirling about in time to receive a hilt to the gut.

As she gagged and crumbled, the Devil gave a deeply troubled sigh, the image of the serpent she'd seen receding, as if it had lost interest and returned to slumber.

"His lack of respect for swords is wearing off on me… I honestly can't believe I just used Sword Birth for _pole-vaulting_."

With her cheek resting in the dirt, Xenovia could see the shattered tip of his sword still embedded in the dirt, surrounded by all the shards that had fallen victim to Destruction's power.

"What a shame though… I don't even feel a little satisfied with this. Guess some desires aren't so easily appeased."

As the Knight wandered away, another figure came into view.

Asia Argento.

"Come to mock your fallen enemy?"

She was more than a little surprised when Asia smiled at her.

Without saying a word, Asia rolled her over and lifted her into a half-sitting position with an arm against her back.

Xenovia went to push her away, but the motion made her gut hitch, and she doubled up on herself instead.

Humming softly to herself, Asia let her hands take on the soft green glow of Twilight Healing.

As the warmth washed over her, a stunned Xenovia could only rasp out the obvious.

"W-why?"

Asia blinked at her, as if not quite understanding the question.

'You're in pain?"

"I offered to kill you."

Asia gave an understanding nod, smiling still.

"You're also in pain."

"I don't need your pity."

"That's nice."

From anyone else, that would have sounded incredibly patronizing.

Asia Argento was not anyone else, and thus Xenovia found herself feeling vaguely ashamed of her behavior.

She was too distracted by that unease to recoil as she should have when the little Devil (with some effort) pulled her to her feet.

Asia brushed herself off and smiled at her once more before turning her back to return to her group.

Xenovia's voice caught her halfway, and it was impossible to ignore how several of the watchers tensed in preparation.

"That… compassion of yours will get you into trouble one day."

Asia half-turned, and this time, her smile carried an edge both wistful and more than a little fragile.

"It already has. I just had to find people who would value it."

Asia stuck out her tongue playfully, and skipped back to her family without another word.

Her wounds had been healed, so why did it still-?

* * *

Careful so that Asia couldn't see her movements, Koneko offered an approving nod and thumbs-up towards the shadowed ground behind the Bishop.

The very much _male_ outline at her feet rose its arm to the side, so that the return gesture could be clearly seen.

Yuuji smirked.

* * *

"We're getting excommunicated for sure."

"At least we have a better chance of being alive and successful when we are?"

"Xen-chan, I know that was supposed to be encouraging, but it really, really wasn't."

"It's fine Irina, we're not seeking aid from the Devils, we're 'assisting the locals'."

"And what, exactly, are we going to say when they ask who the locals were?"

"It was dark and we couldn't make out their faces?"

"..."

"How about, 'please have mercy'?"

"..."

"It'll be fine Irina, don't worry so much."

"THERE IS NO WAY THAT WON'T MAKE ME WORRY!"

The two Exorcists were currently sitting on one of the clubroom couches engaged in a heated(?) debate, while the members of the ORC watched with more amusement than anything else.

They'd made their point and gotten a little payback for the insults, so no one minded humoring the Exorcists a bit if they decided to behave.

As the only person with a relevant grudge, Kiba was currently paying as little attention as necessary, in a vain attempt to avoid enjoying their plight more than he should.

The apology certainly hadn't hurt the Church duo's case.

Both the girls had friends among the Exorcists assigned to guard the Excaliburs, and both hadn't had time to mourn the fact that said Exorcists had been used to paint the walls during the theft.

They'd been angry, and people they'd been trained their whole lives to hate were easy targets.

Rias had graciously accepted the apology, and had stated that while they would be conducting their own investigations, they didn't mind if the Exorcists tagged along as 'observers'.

Strictly speaking, this was a diplomatic incident, but as (joint) overseer of the territory, Rias had the authority to make a 'peace offering' such as this.

Mostly because the Underworld cared not a whit for the Holy Swords as long as they weren't being actively used against them.

Better they stay in their vaults than be deployed in any fashion.

Of course, not _all_ of the Swords would be returned intact.

The condition for the Churchgoers continued presence in Kuoh was that Kiba would have the right to any one Excalibur retrieved, solely for the purpose of breaking it over his knee.

The Exorcists had agreed, on the condition that they bore witness, as returning the Swords destruction was deemed preferable in the event they couldn't be retrieved.

The current argument seemed to stem from a disagreement as to precisely how heretical the current negotiations were.

Now that she was feeling less belligerent, Xenovia seemed to have a somewhat erratic approach to her faith that appeared to carry ample space for pragmatism, bizarre though her logic could be.

For Irina's part, it seemed that whatever was really troubling her had little to do with the Holy Swords, but those gathered had no intention of prying.

Regardless of what the Exorcists were here for, they'd still spent their lives on opposing sides.

"If I may… isn't something like a mutual non-aggression pact sufficient? You're not working with us, we're merely doing our best to stay out of each other's way. Kuoh really isn't all that big, so it couldn't be helped if our operations happened in almost identical locations."

Rias, feeling they'd had enough fun watching the Exorcist's flounder, decided to throw them a bone and interrupt.

Xenovia seemed to pick up on it easily enough.

"Yes, it would be detrimental to the Church's interests if we spent all our time tripping over each other. Any particular areas we should stay away from?"

"Hmm, well there are several abandoned churches within my territory, and it's common knowledge that Fallen Angels tend to enjoy such places, so I certainly couldn't recommend starting your investigation at the closest of them. Certainly not, under any circumstances, in say, an hours time?"

"We'll go the other direction then. Abandoned churches seem too obvious."

"That would be best."

"..."

"Satisfactory?"

Rias' smile carried a hint of mischief.

"Yep, I think we're covered."

Xenovia's expression was just a touch less subtle.

"So is an hour enough time for your preparations or do you need longer?"

"We have all we need with us, no sense dawdling."

"Perfect, may I offer some refreshments? Accepting the offerings of your host would fall under proper manners I imagine."

"Yeah, I worked up an appetite."

"Xen-chan."

Finally, Irina spoke up, an odd kind of half-frown on her face.

"Yes, Irina?"

That her expression was genuinely curious spoke volumes of Xenovia's personality.

"I'm pretty sure this is cheating."

"I'll sit with you in confession."

Xenovia offered her partner a consoling pat on the shoulder, eyes devoid of even the faintest hint of guile, or sarcasm.

"That… I… I give up."

The twin-tailed girl visibility deflated, with a long suffering sigh.

Akeno, who had slipped out of the room when Xenovia accepted Rias' offer, was balancing a laden tea tray on one hand as she swept lightly back into the room.

"Is that a yes to refreshments then?"

Of course it was a yes.

Irina might have refused if she hadn't caught wind of Akeno's offerings.

But she had, and Akeno really was that good.

Ignoring the exchange, Yuuji let his eyes wander towards the dark shape outside the window.

Just a stray cat.

He wished he could get away with napping on a tree branch like that during a school day.

Perhaps the stray felt his jealousy, because moments later, it opened its eyes with a long yawn, stretched itself luxuriously, and hopped out of sight.

* * *

She was here.

She knew that, of course.

Normally that wouldn't have meant anything, but now _he_ was here too.

And _that_ changed everything.

… So much for not meddling.

* * *

The first day of searching for any hint of the stolen Excaliburs was spent in vain, but it did allow the ORC to accustom themselves with their 'observers' to a degree.

They'd divided themselves into two groups for the day, Rias taking Kiba, Koneko and the two Exorcists, while Akeno led Yuuji, Asia, Raynare and Kalawarner.

Suu could be masked as human with magic, but she couldn't quite _act_ human just yet, and so Ruth had stayed home to keep her company.

It had gotten dark about half an hour ago, and so as Rias and her group had escorted the two Exorcists to the church they were staying at, Akeno's group had headed home.

They had just rounded the corner when they spotted the wavy-haired blonde leaning up against her fancy yellow sports car, parked in front of the dorm.

The girls in his group hung back a bit in hesitant curiosity as the blonde waved, while Yuuji kept walking, secretly hoping that the problem would go away if he avoided eye contact.

"Hi hi Yuuji-kun~."

His efforts were wasted.

"Oh hello JB, I didn't see you there."

"At least _try_ to sound surprised."

"I'll work harder."

JB stared at him in silence.

Yuuji stared back in silence.

The girls fidgeted in the background, also in silence.

"So, Yuuji-kun, when were you going to tell your _legal guardian_ that you'd moved?"

"When I moved?"

"Oh, well I seem to recall you lived in a single bedroom flat. Especially since I seem to recall being the one to sign the papers. So where, pray tell, is your house?"

JB's voice was pleasant, and for reasons they couldn't quite explain, that was making the girls very, _very_ nervous.

"I haven't checked the basement."

"The basement."

"Yeah, you know I don't own a lot, so no need to go into storage."

JB put a hand on her face and sighed into it.

"Of course there's underground storage. Next you're going to tell me there's an underground pool."

"..."

"Yuuji…"

The girls in the background felt the sudden urge to become a more distant part of the background.

"I wasn't planning to?"

"..."

"..."

"Yuuji."

"Yes, JB?"

"Explain."

A command, not a request.

As the dorm supervisor, Kalawarner was just beginning to determine how she'd play this off to an unexpected relative (?) when salvation came calling.

"Pardon the intrusion, but perhaps I could shed light on the situation?"

Yuuji may have been stalling for Rias.

He could neither confirm nor deny.

JB turned to face the source of the voice, still smiling pleasantly.

Out of her line of sight, Yuuji's companions sagged in relief.

" I don't mind, Miss….?"

"Rias Gremory, pleased to make your acquaintance. Judging by the conversation, might you be Harudera-san?"

Rias gave a polite bow, a welcoming smile on her face.

Yuuji grinned internally at having foisted one boss of on another.

"That would be me! You wouldn't happen to be the same Gremory as the family funding Yuuji's school, would you?"

JB's voice was syrupy sweet.

Rias offered a pleased nod.

"Indeed, that would be me. Yuuji is my junior, and I'm pleased to be able to call him a friend. I'm also the president of the extracurricular club he's joined, the Occult Research Club."

"Friends, extracurricular? Yuuji, how come I don't know any of this!?"

JB whirled on Yuuji, genuine surprise on her face mixing with irritation.

"You never asked?"

"I ASK FOR UPDATES ALL THE TIME!"

She bit back a groan when Yuuji tilted his head in puzzlement.

"Are… these the sort of things I'm supposed to update you on?"

Yuuji's monotone carried with it just a trace of hesitation, as if he realized he might have done something wrong but wasn't sure what.

This time, JB didn't try to keep in the groan, and several female voices echoed it.

"Has… Yuuji always been this... shy, Harudera-san?"

Rias slowly posed the question.

"You mean dense to a worrying degree? Yes, yes he has."

"Oy."

Rias gave a sigh that made it sound like she was talking more about a mischievous child than an underclassman, artfully ignoring Yuuji's glare.

Her eyes held a suspicious little twinkle as Rias began to offer an explanation.

"I was afraid that might be case, so that makes explanations easier. You see, Harudera-san, I try my best to cultivate genuine friendships between members of my club, both within and without school. I'm not sure if that's the norm or not, but it's the only way I know how to run things. It's not precisely open knowledge, but several of our members are actually my adopted siblings."

Rias paused for a moment and squirmed a bit, ducking her head bashfully.

Yuuji was interested to note that she wasn't actually putting on a performance for JB's benefit, even if she wasn't exactly sharing everything.

Rias' voice dropped slightly in volume as she continued, twiddling her fingers together.

"So, well… I found out Yuuji was living on his own, and he seemed slow to make friends and I was worried about him spending all his time alone… and well we had a few newcomers looking for a place to stay, including our new teacher and... a-and I've always wanted to live in a dormitory and so…"

Rias' sentences were starting to run on a little bit.

"So you had an entire dormitory built?"

JB's tone was wavering between skepticism and wonder, but her smile this time was genuine as Rias nodded, still a little red in the cheeks.

Unbeknownst to her, several of her family were smiling fondly at their King.

"My family is quite… well-off and many of the houses in this neighborhood were soon to be vacant or getting old… and well, Yuuji seemed like he'd be hesitant to move so…"

"You had it done without telling him?"

A sheepish nod.

"Good, he never would have gone for it."

"I apologize, I know it was out-of-line... sorry, say that again?"

"Yep, Yuuji doesn't let anyone look after him so you have to bully him a bit."

JB turned her head to grin slyly at him.

Rias let the tension slip from her shoulders with an explosive sigh before giggling.

"Indeed, I may have noticed that little fact as well."

"I bet you did. And I bet his _girlfriend_ did too?"

Akeno let out a surprised little squeak and stiffened like a board.

"Wait, you have a girlfriend and you didn't tell me!?"

JB jerked back from Yuuji in genuine shock.

"Why the hell would you say that if you didn't know, woman!?"

"It was just a guess! You're surrounded by women! Again!"

"Wait, again!?"

Akeno had found her voice, and, it seemed, an echo.

JB let out a sound that was halfway between a sigh and a frustrated scream.

Then she stiffened, and turned slowly towards Yuuji.

"Yuuji."

"Yes, JB?"

"Have you two…?"

"About as much as normal, yes."

JB's went pale as a sheet and, before anyone knew what she was doing, she was next to Akeno, checking her over frantically while the poor girl went rigid.

"He did WHAT !? Oh my god, are you okay!?"

"Oy."

Yuuji was glaring again.

Bewildered and more than a little frightened, Akeno could only nod.

JB stopped dead, stared searchingly into Akeno's eyes for a moment before turning to Yuuji with a profoundly, deeply skeptical gaze.

"Are you sure?"

"How would I not be sure, idiot?"

JB slowly turned her head towards Akeno, looking her slowly up and down before turning back to him.

"Huh, I guess you have mellowed out."

"Mellowed… out?"

Akeno hesitantly reclaimed her voice.

JB was nodding her head knowingly as she turned back to the raven-haired girl.

"Mhm, mhm, the first time we did it, we went at it so long I thought I was going to die. He really didn't hold back at all."

"You were being annoying, and Asako told me not to hold back on you. I didn't realize you were such a big baby when it came to sex- Akeno, no."

Akeno turned her head away a bit too quickly for his taste, but he still caught the twinkle in her eyes and the excited flush in her cheeks.

So did JB, it seemed, from the resigned tone she used.

"It was my first… you're dating a masochist, aren't you?"

Akeno made a pleased noise at what sounded suspiciously like an accusation.

Then her head whipped back to Yuuji as she processed _all_ of what had been said.

"Yep. Hey wait, should we really be having this conversation around…"

Koneko couldn't hear the conversation, because an awkward looking Kiba had his hands over her ears, and she couldn't see him, because she had her hands over her eyes.

Behind him, a confused looking Asia had Kalawarner's hands over her ears and Raynare's hand in front of her eyes.

Both the Fallen Angels, and Rias, were blushing heavily.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me, Yuuji!?"

JB's eyes were beginning to look a little wild, and Yuuji was wondering when Rias would notice the subtle hypnosis she had been using wasn't working in the slightest.

"I have a dog."

JB stopped short, and there was a glimmer of sadness in her eyes before she offered a tired smile.

"A dog, eh? That's good. I'm sure you're taking good care of it."

Before things could get any more awkward, Yuuji suddenly decided to rip the band-aid off and get it out of the way.

Before anyone could realize his intentions, Yuuji unfurled his wings.

"I'm also a Devil."

JB reacted much in the manner Yuuji predicted.

So when she blinked rapidly several times and showed the whites of her eyes, Yuuji caught her well before she could hit the ground.

As Yuuji shifted to scoop her up in a princess carry, he noticed that for some reason, he was the center of attention again.

"What?"

* * *

"What were you thinking!?"

Rias and Yuuji were the only ones outside, having stepped back out, and further down the road, after Yuuji carried JB to one of the common room couches.

Yuuji gave a long, heavy sigh.

"It wasn't working, Rias."

"What do you mean, what wasn't working?"

"The hypnosis. JB could tell something was off and she was getting more and more antsy. She would have pressed for some _real_ answers the second we were alone, so I took the initiative."

Yuuji gave a small frown.

"How was the… isn't she a normal human?"

"As far as I know? Doesn't hypnosis not work on the strong-willed?"

"There's a limit to how strong-willed you can be. That would make her practically super-human."

"I could believe that. It probably didn't help you were trying to be subtle, I bet something more blatant would have worked."

"I was trying to be considerate."

"And I appreciate that. But more importantly, I don't like hiding things from her. Before all this Devil nonsense happened, she was all I had left."

Rias stared searchingly at him for a moment, before relaxing with a smile and a sigh.

"I understand, Yuuji but, some warning would be nice? There are supposed to be rules about this sort of thing, suddenly revealing the supernatural like that can become quite the serious problem… but if you trust her as much as I think you do, I doubt it will become an issue."

Rias went silent for a moment, and Yuuji mirrored her, realizing she had more to say.

"But… why now?"

"You know why, Rias. This isn't some Stray Devil, and there's not going to be a Rating Game. If ten wings is any indication, Kokabiel isn't someone we'll walk away from unscathed. I just… I can't just disappear on her, Rias. She needs to know, if the worst happens."

Yuuji had let his eyes drift as he spoke, but when he brought his gaze back to the crimson-haired girl, he found Rias staring at the ground with shaking shoulders, arms wrapped tightly around herself as if warding off an unseen chill.

"... Rias?"

She flinched when she heard her name, head shooting up to find Yuuji's blank expression tinged with just a hint of concern.

She dropped her head once again, bangs covering her face as if to hide from Yuuji's gaze.

"I… I-I'm scared, Yuuji. Scared that we're in over our heads, scared we can't handle this, scared I'm going to lose all of you, scared that-"

 _Scared that I'm going to be left all alone._

A pair of strong arms pulled her in, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist as the other hand reached up to rest gently on the back of her head, rubbing it gently.

The trembling girl lifted up her hands to grip fistfuls of his shirt.

"I know. This isn't going to be easy but… maybe it's time to ask your brother for help?"

The grip on his shirt tightened in response.

"I can't. It's… It's not that I don't want to, but… he has to be a Satan first. At this point, it's just a rumor that Kokabiel is in Kuoh, and he can't mobilize any proper response without risking the attentions of the other Factions. If we can't offer anything concrete, his hands are tied."

"Even with Kiba…?"

Rias gave a bitter, shaky laugh.

"The word of one Low-class, Reincarnated Devil? It might be more than enough for Onii-san, Yuuji, but there are still Pillar Families that think people like you, and Yuuto, are little more than expensive _pets._ It's considered 'improper' to say it in polite company, but the most consistent way for a Reincarnated Devil to be recognized is to be _amusing_."

"We're… well damn. We're lucky to have you, aren't we?"

The girl in his arms froze, so Yuuji pulled her in closer.

"Rias, we're going to make it through this. We're going to live, and we're going to keep living together and keep going to school together. I'm going to keep troubling you, and you're going to keep scolding me. There is no what-if, there is no 'but maybe', we're going to make it through."

Rias was silent, but the trembling seemed to have died down.

"Why…"

"Why what, Rias?"

Her grip tightened further still.

"Why does this keep happening!? I'm your King, I'm supposed to be the one comforting you, I'm supposed to be the one _you_ can rely on. Why am I so… why are you so strong?"

Yuuji let his gaze drift upwards, towards an empty sky, that, somewhere along the way, had dyed itself a lifeless, dreary grey.

"I've never thought of myself as strong."

"But you are. You're strong, so strong that you don't need a weak, naive little girl to-"

Rias was cut off as she was pushed roughly to arms length, and any words died in her throat as black eyes pierced her with a glare of pure _fury_.

"You're an idiot."

His tone carried a weight of finality to it.

Rias flinched as if slapped, and her mouth opened to-

"You really have no idea how much we need you, do you?"

Her lips closed with meek little whimper.

Wide, shimmering blue eyes stared into his dull black.

She let out a tiny squeak as Yuuji's arms pulled her back in, pulling her head down just enough to rest against his chest.

"Rias, more than anything, we, _I_ , need something to return to. You gave us, gave me, a home, and it seems you're forgetting how much that means. Ever since I was reborn as your servant, I've _always_ been relying on you."

Rias' hands had found her way to his back once more, grip almost crushingly, desperately tight.

The two teens remained silent for a long while as the wind began to softly blow.

"Okay, Yuuji… thank you."

Her voice was soft, but this time carried a warmth to it that had been absent before.

With a soft exhale, Rias relaxed in his arms, pressing more closely against him.

"Any time, Rias."

"Can… can we stay like this a little longer?"

"If that's what you want. Seems JB is still passed out."

"Yeah, this enough."

"No, I don't think it is."

"Well… actually…"

"After we're done with all this mess, I think you deserve a little reward."

"W-well, now that you mention it…"

"Which is why when things quiet down, Yuuji-kun should take you out on a date."

"Yeah, that sounds good- WAIT WHAT!?"

Rias jerked away from Yuuji's chest, eyes wide and face flushed when she realized that _he_ had stopped talking a little while ago.

Yuuji seemed puzzled, and a pair of soft hands had found their way to his shoulders.

Leaning out from behind him, grinning widely with bright violet eyes, was the source of the voice.

"A-Akeno!? How long have you- when did you-!?"

"Ufufu, you two were too wrapped up in your little world to notice, pretty rare for me to sneak up on Yuuji-kun like that."

Hands still on his shoulders, Akeno twisted Yuuji's body towards her so she could smile mischievously up at him.

Yuuji raised a skeptical eyebrow and spoke what was on his mind.

"I think I just got dumped."

Predictably, Akeno panicked, hopping back as if burnt and waving her hands around wildly in front of her as if to fend off his words.

"N-no! I just- you know, I…!"

"Spit it out."

Akeno stopped dead and looked at him sheepishly, as if bracing herself.

"We've had a stressful couple of months, and as Buchou, Rias has borne the brunt of a lot of it. So I thought that maybe it would help ease her burden a bit if she had something to look forward to? I mean, she's pretty and smart and kind and I _totally_ understand if you're interested. And I really don't mind as long I'm still first and well it's kind of… normal?"

Yuuji tilted his head.

"Normal to date other people when you're in a relationship, or normal to be attracted to Rias?"

"The first... both. It's definitely both."

Akeno nodded along firmly as Rias flushed and ducked her head.

"So you're trying to tell me its a normal thing for Devils to be with multiple people, and you're putting forth Rias as a candidate?"

"... Yes?"

Akeno suggested hesitantly, while Rias tried not to look hopeful.

"I see."

"Do you… not want to?"

Rias asked in a low voice, shyly peeking out from behind her bangs at him.

"I'm surprised more than anything. Is this an Akeno thing or were you in on this to start with?"

"... Both?"

Yuuji nodded his head, looking like everything had fallen into place as the girls watched him nervously.

"Akeno."

The girl jumped a bit as he spoke.

"Y-yes?"

"If you wanted a threesome with Rias, you should have just led with that."

When he received only incoherent stammering in response, Yuuji decided to be a gentleman, and give his furiously blushing seniors a little privacy.

The girls were still reeling and frantically looking anywhere but at him or each other when he reached the door and called back.

"If you're sure, then I don't mind, by the way."

Both girls snapped their heads towards him with a mixture of shy excitement and embarrassed mortification, so Yuuji turned his head towards them with a teasing smirk.

"On _both_ counts."

* * *

JB awoke with a groan to find the little blonde hovering over her with a face full of concern and a cool cloth on her forehead, just as Yuuji walked into the common room to join the others.

Sitting up with one hand on the cloth, she offered the blonde a grateful smile and a nod, before handing it back.

"Thanks, I'm okay now-"

And noticed Yuuji, in the center of the room.

JB screamed and leapt off the couch, a surprised Asia falling on her butt with a squeak.

Eyes wild, JB pressed her back up into the corner, up against the wall.

Asia slowly made her way to the couch where the two Fallen Angels sat.

"Oh good, you're awake."

"THAT'S THE FIRST THING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!?"

Yuuji put a hand to his chin thoughtfully before he replied.

"Sorry for startling you?"

"That's- uggh… should have known better."

JB sagged against the wall with an aura of deep-seated exhaustion as Yuuji nodded his agreement.

As the rest of the room watched in tense silence, Yuuji patiently waited for JB to gather her thoughts.

Though he didn't turn to look, Yuuji listened as Akeno and Rias re-entered the building, quietly, slowly taking their places on the couches behind him.

"How… how long, Yuuji?"

Several people cringed at how exhausted the woman's voice sounded.

"Since the first week."

JB flinched.

"How…?"

"Kuoh is active in ways we couldn't have known. I had something another faction wanted, and I died."

JB jerked back with a strangled noise, eyes wide, legs shaking as she slid slowly down the wall, dropping to sit heavily on the floor.

"Rias saved me, but she had to reincarnate me as her servant Devil to do so. I've been working with her and the others ever since."

Yuuji continued on, as if unaware of her distress, still in that low, matter-of-fact tone.

... Nobody missed how stiff he was.

Tears beginning to well up in her eyes, JB snapped her eyes towards Rias.

"Thank you… thank you so much."

Rias flinched as if slapped.

"Don't thank me. Please… don't thank me. It's all my fault, I'm supposed to protect this city and I failed and I'm so, so sorry."

Tears had begun to stream down the shaking redheads face, and a glistening-eyed Akeno drew her arms around her and pulled her in close.

"I don't care."

At JB's flat response, Rias flinched once again and went pale.

"He's alive, and that's what matters. That's _all_ that matters. Thank you so much, Rias Gremory."

Akeno pulled Rias tighter against her, her King's sobs muffled as she buried her face in Akeno's chest.

JB slowly turned her head to regard the other one who had reacted the most strongly, and Raynare cringed away from her gaze with her eyes tightly shut and her shaking hands pressed hard against her knees.

Kalawarner wrapped her arms around the smaller girls shoulders, regarding JB with a mixture of wariness and guilt.

After a moment, JB let out a trembling sigh and lifted her head to Yuuji with one eyebrow raised.

"Just business?"

Her voice had just the slightest tremor.

"Nothing personal."

Yuuji gave a firm nod.

JB returned a weak little chuckle.

"And let me guess, you still being here means they were disavowed? Are they Devils like you?"

The two Fallen sank lower against each other, Raynare having opened her bleary eyes just enough to nervously peer towards JB.

"You got it. And no, they have feathers. Fallen Angels."

Face tear-streaked and eyes red and puffy, JB looked to the pair of Fallen, looked to Yuuji, then back to the Fallen.

"Of course there's Fallen Angels, which means there's normal Angels-"

JB stopped dead, and dropped her face into her hands.

When her eyes slowly lifted once more to Yuuji, everyone jumped a little as JB abruptly burst into laughter.

"L-let me guess, after the fight you spouted some pompous sounding line and then decided to take them in? Is this- ahaha- the _real_ reason you needed a bigger house?"

Yuuji let out a dry chuckle of his own, the other occupants of the room only able to look on in confusion.

"Rias really did want to live in a dorm, though."

"Ahaha- I bet she did! Okay, okay, if you're satisfied with that then … hahaha…"

The laughing woman wiped away a tear.

"Then tell me, Yuuji-kun~."

Her laughter abruptly gave way to a sickly sweet tone.

"Why now?"

The room froze as Yuuji slowly closed his eyes.

Tense seconds ticked by before Yuuji let out a soft exhale and spoke.

"It's bad, JB. Someone is gathering Holy Swords in Kuoh, and I'm not sure how we're going to win. I'll make sure everyone here survives, but that's probably going to take everything I've got."

"Can't you just leave…?"

Yuuji shook his head.

"And I… I can't help at all, can I? It's not a human, is it?"

JB's response slipped out in little more than a whisper.

"It's a Cadre. A Fallen Angel with 10 wings, Kokabiel."

Yuuji still had his eyes closed, so he didn't see JB until she crashed into him, pressing tightly into him and grabbing fistfuls of his shirt as her head slammed against his chest.

"DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT DAMMIT WHY!? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING!? I promised her, I promised her I'd keep you safe! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING AND WHY CAN'T I DO A DAMN THING ABOUT IT!? FUCK!"

Each curse was compounded with a fist pounding against his chest.

Soon, the words she screamed against his chest gave way to an inarticulate wail of despair, so Yuuji pulled her in tightly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Koneko stagger over to Kiba, curling up in his lap in a trembling, sniffling ball.

Kiba watched him in silence with sad eyes and grit teeth.

"Julia."

The screams faltered.

She pushed him to arm's length with wild eyes, frantically scanning his face for something only she could know.

Yuuji offered a simple, warm smile.

"I have a home again."

Everyone watched JB recoil.

Without warning her legs gave a violent quiver, and when everyone thought she would faint once more, Yuuji had caught her and drawn her back into his embrace.

… Barring the occasional sniffle, the room was silent for a long while.

When JB finally spoke, everyone leaned in closer to catch what was little more than a whisper.

"Okay… if you'll say that much then… I guess I'm w-worrying too much."

There was an air of desperation about her as the woman lifted her tear-stained eyes to meet Yuuji's.

"J-just please, don't be a hero... home doesn't mean anything if you don't return to it."

"Yeah… I think I'm starting to learn that. It's strange… I'm really excited to introduce you to everyone…?"

Yuuji's tone was laced with confusion, as if he was learning the meaning to the words as he spoke them.

JB relaxed against him, and the urgency seemed to flee from her embrace, along with the tension from the room.

"I think we should wait on that, Yuuji-kun. After all, we've got plenty of time, don't we? It would be really nice to sit around the dinner table with all your new _family_. If… you'll save me a seat?"

She tilted her head back to look at him, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, her gaze carried just the faintest hint of hope.

Far be it from him to deny that.

"Always, Julia, always."

They were still a little shaky, but slowly, hesitantly, smiles began to blossom around the room.

* * *

For the first time since the dorm had been built, Yuuji was alone in his bed.

After JB had left, everyone had sat quietly for a while before Rias had taken a deep breath, and sent them off to bed early with a smile.

Akeno had looked incredibly conflicted once the group of them (sans Asia and the Fallen Angels) had reached the second story landing, worryingly looking between him and Rias.

Yuuji had given her a nod and a small smile, jerking his head in the direction of their King.

Thus, Akeno, Rias, and Koneko had all gone in the exact same direction, and only one door could be heard closing.

That left Yuuji and Kiba to head to the top floor, and when they had reached the top of the staircase, they'd turned their heads briefly towards each other.

"Good?"

"Good."

And with that, they had gone their separate ways, leaving Yuuji in his current predicament.

His bed really was too big.

There was no way he was going to manage to fall asleep like-

* * *

The pale sliver of the moon had hidden itself behind the clouds.

But just as the great halls of Heaven, the city was never truly dark.

And just like the pale ruin that Heaven now was, the city far below was a wretched, pathetic place.

But then again, the city had been that way all along.

Had Heaven?

Well, Kokabiel couldn't quite remember.

But he was sure that Heaven didn't have anything quite like _her_.

"Ah, the Strays always seem to find their way to the alleys and the sewers. Tell me, cat, did the White One send you, or did you just happen to spy a mouse?"

Kokabiel casually tilted his head up and back, a single red orb casually regarding the figure above.

Reclining on the rooftop above him was a svelte, feminine shape, a silhouette with beast-like ears and two long, slender tails, weaving restlessly behind her.

The moonlight just beginning to re-emerge illuminated a pair of crossed, white, and shapely legs, peeking out from a short, loose, but elegant black kimono.

And lit a fire in golden, smiling eyes.

"Hmm, I wonder why so many crows are cluttering up the skyline? You might make the bats nervous, nyaa~."

"Nervous? Well I suppose nervousness is an understandable response, but I'm hoping for just a little more."

A rich, indulgent chuckle filled the air, and a playful titter echoed in response.

"Nyaa, Crow-san must have something _exciting_ planned if he's here in person~."

"Oh, indeed he does."

"Nyaa, well, I'll leave you to it, but before I go, mind letting a pretty girl on in the joke?"

"Oh, I suppose I can indulge you just this once."

"Too kind~."

"Things have been quiet, too quiet. The bats are complacent, the crows are complacent, and the doves are complacent as well."

As he spoke, Kokabiel made sweeping gestures of his arm, raising his voice as if the city below was his audience.

His eyes never left hers, however, and judged with eager anticipation.

It wasn't often he had the chance to share his dreams to a willing audience. Her appropriately widening eyes brought a pleased grin to his face.

"Let's see them stay asleep... _**w**_ _ **hen one of their precious little roosts is on fire**._"

Silence reigned.

Tilting his head up just a little more, the Cadre could hardly contain his eagerness when the sky above was swallowed by an ominous shadow, centered around twin slits of furious gold.

Naked, reckless malice stained the air.

... Perhaps, he wouldn't be so dreadfully bored after all.

"I asked the wrong question, _Kokabiel_."

The teasing whispers vanished in favor of a vicious, throaty hiss.

"Tell me, **_crrrow_ … w** _ **hat the hell are you planning with my sister!?"**_

* * *

 **Cliff-hangers for everyone! It really was a good place to end off though.**

 **By now, our golden-eyed observer should be easily apparent, so mostly I'm just teasing you guys by not actually dropping a name. If you didn't figure it out well…**

 **The next chapter will be your friend. Probably.**

 **This one took some work, I wasn't expecting to amp up the emotional tension that far by introducing JB to the cast. These feels are too heavy sometimes. This is a set-up chapter, so lots of things needed to be introduced, and I wrestled a bit with which things needed to be introduced** _ **now**_ **.**

 **I had an inappropriate amount of fun introducing Xenovia and Irina to the story, and for those concerned, no, I'm not bashing them, I like them both. That's just not any reason to play nice with them in a story like this. And yes, Kiba really was that much better than Xenovia, she's going to have a lot more work to do than in canon. Still, I'll encourage you to share your thoughts on them.**

 **If you're wondering why Rias was decidedly less friendly than in canon, Kiba came out of his run-in with the Holy Sword in a significantly worse state. She wasn't joking when she considered pre-emptive murder in the previous chapter. Someone though holding down the Berserk Button would be a good idea.**

 **Oh wait, that was me.**

 **Next chapter should be out in a more normal time frame, but I ended up writing a second story so I'm still figuring out how to juggle them a bit.** _ **Pawn**_ **will remain the priority, however.**


	10. Wings of Ill Omen

**Here's our next chapter, delivered in a more timely fashion, just as I'd hoped.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **Also, the fact that guest reviews can't be responded to directly is messing with my policy of responding to reviews directly. But, you know, thanks for reviewing.**

 **As an aside, I was pretty confident that I could break the 200 mark for followers by chapter 9 or 10, but well… You can see for yourself.**

 **Thanks a lot to everyone who enjoyed this enough to stick around.**

* * *

It would have been completely understandable if the morning after JB's visit was tense and awkward, as no-one had really expected things to get that emotional.

Yuuji was used to JB's uncanny ability to time her visits at the most awkward times, so he probably should have known better.

Still, when he had gotten out of bed the previous morning, dumping his issues on everyone hadn't exactly been part of the game plan.

He'd apologize, of course, but he wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

Apologies tended to fall flat when your normal tone sounds bored and unenthusiastic.

Yuuji had almost made it to the bottom of the staircase when he began to hear the soft humming, and the telltale sizzle of early morning cooking.

Quietly, he stepped off the staircase and rounded the corner, silently padding over to the open doorway of the communal kitchen.

The enticing aroma of sizzling bacon greeted him as he slowly reached one hand up and knocked on the wood of the entryway, not wanting to startle the cook.

Crimson hair flowed through the air in a warm cascade as radiant blue eyes turned his way, and Yuuji felt the corners of his lips tug upwards as those eyes lit up with recognition.

The girl he had pledged his life to offered him a tender, welcoming smile.

"Good morning, Yuuji, I hope you slept well?"

Even as she offered her greetings, Rias' hands never stopped moving, Yuuji doubly impressed that her work didn't seem to rely on something as trivial as sight.

"Surprisingly so, how about you, Rias?"

Yuuji returned her greeting with a slight nod.

"I haven't had cuddle time with both Akeno _and_ Koneko in a while, I slept like a baby. They're still snuggled up together. They were way too cute for me to want to interrupt, so I let them be."

Rias had an adoring smile on her face as she spoke, one hand to her cheek.

Turning back to the skillet in front of her, the crimson-haired King angled her body so that Yuuji wasn't quite out of sight.

"We don't have school today anyways, so I thought it would be a perfect chance for me to spoil everyone."

"Yeah, I thought you were cooking for an army, but then I remembered Koneko lives here."

Rias conceded the point with a small, tinkling little laugh.

"Breakfast will be ready soon, though I'm planning keep it warm so everyone can join in at their own pace. A nice, relaxed breakfast should be just what everyone needs."

"I imagine I'll be saying this a lot, but… we really are lucky to have you, Rias."

The girls smile widened at the praise, but when she turned back to him, her gaze was carefully scrutinizing, and held just the faintest trace of concern.

"Are you really okay, Yuuji?"

The soft question left her Pawn standing in silence for a moment, leaning slightly against the entryway.

Yuuji let out a soft sigh before replying.

"I'm okay. Telling JB the truth was never going to be easy… though, I am sorry for dragging everyone into it like that. I wasn't thinking."

Yuuji had a small frown on his face as he spoke, staring absentmindedly at the wall.

Not replying, Rias carefully removed her apron before approaching Yuuji and wrapping her arms around him.

Hesitantly, Yuuji returned the hug, a bit confused by the gesture.

There was something faintly comforting about it, though, so he decided to enjoy it for what it was.

"Don't think like that, please. We're family, so don't feel like you're burdening us by letting us in. I want you to trust us, I want you to trust _me_."

Rias pushed herself to arms length, meeting dull black eyes with a firm, but warm stare.

"We'll have our joys, we'll have our sorrows, but we don't have to have them alone."

Rias watched him hopefully, patiently awaiting Yuuji's reply as he mulled over her words.

After a few moments, Yuuji found his voice again.

"Do you smell something burning?"

Yuuji raised one eyebrow and sniffed the air.

Rias let out a panicked little noise and whipped back to her cooking food, finding that…

Everything was just perfect.

Her sigh of relief was cut short when she figured out exactly what he-

A warm, dry chuckle drifted out behind and passed her.

Still chuckling, her smirking Pawn made his way into the kitchen, pulling out plates with which to set the table.

Belatedly realizing that her jaw was hanging open, Rias closed her mouth with a soft clack, and scowled at Yuuji.

Not fooled at all, Yuuji winked at her.

"And we were having a moment, too."

She mock pouted.

"We were, weren't we? My mistake, Buchou."

Rias' sigh managed to sound warm and exasperated at the same time.

"Well, I suppose we'll have more, so I can forgive you, just this once."

"That so? Thanks."

Rias beamed at Yuuji's words, but remained silent, sensing he wasn't quite done.

"... Yeah, thanks for everything, Rias."

The rest of breakfast preparations were completed in comfortable silence.

Rias had been in the mood for Western style food, so there were stacks of still sizzling bacon, farmer sausage, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and freshly sliced melon

. Completing the meal were several tall stacks of pancakes, that had mysteriously found themselves shaped into cute little kitties.

There was freshly whipped cream and blueberries to go with those.

Battle was the only thing treated with greater urgency than meal times, in the Gremory household.

Not long after Yuuji and Rias had sat down to eat, Kiba came down the staircase with a cheerful smile, dressed, and showered, looking like he was ready to leave on a date.

This was Kiba's normal appearance on a weekend, however, so nobody paid any mind beyond the usual greetings.

Yuuji slipped in a short apology about the events of yesterday, but Kiba waved it away, not bothered in the least.

Of course, while the members of the Gremory household _should_ have been going to school for the half-day, Rias had negotiated to with Sona to get them excused.

Just this once.

He had just joined Rias and Yuuji at the table, and finished serving himself a plate of eggs, bacon and fruit, when the door to the dorm supervisor's room swept open.

A procession of bodies came out one by one, in various states of wakefulness.

First was a cutely shuffling Asia who's sleepy eyes drooped, steered along by a yawning Raynare, neither of whom had made it out of their pajamas just yet.

With a cheerful, squishing march, Suu wandered out of the room next.

Humming a watery, nonsensical tune, Suu's naked, transparent body jiggled and rippled as she followed along.

A second later, a casually dressed and flustered Kalawarner bustled out of the room, catching Suu and helping her into her yellow rain jacket, necessary for the little Slime to sit on her chair rather than _through_ it.

Kalawarner, being a teacher was the only one who would be attending school, but the group she'd be assigned to was to meet her at school once lessons ended for the day.

With a smile that only grew as she caught sight of the full breakfast table, Akeno came down the stairs with a tiny, white haired figure draped over her back.

Winking at Yuuji from across the table, Akeno put the mostly asleep Rook down in an empty seat, sat down beside her, and calmly served the younger girl up a very, very fully plate.

Like the world's most adorable zombie, Koneko started to stir sluggishly in her seat, blinking tired eyes and sniffing the air.

Akeno had just lifted a fork, with a square of pancake speared on the end, when Koneko exploded into motion.

There was a snapping noise like the jaws of a bear trap, and suddenly a blissfully chewing, joyfully smiling Koneko was sitting up perfectly straight in her seat.

At some point during this, Ruth had found his way to a seat beside Suu, in his human form so as to enjoy the benefits of having hands.

A giggling Akeno offered the little Rook the knife and fork, which Koneko accepted graciously.

In the end, breakfast was a noisy, chaotic affair.

They wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Today, Akeno, Yuuji and Koneko would be working with the Exorcist duo, while Rias took Kiba, Asia, and the Fallen Angels to search for any sign of Kokabiel and the Holy Swords.

It was only the second day since the Exorcists had arrived, but as today was a Saturday, Rias wanted them to spend as much time searching as possible.

While her and Akeno were in frequent contact through their phone's messaging, the plan was to have everyone meet for lunch, go over any hints they would hopefully find, and plan their search for the rest of the day.

Plans have a tendency to fall apart, and thus, Akeno, Yuuji, and Koneko were sitting in a diner, because they'd found the Exorcist duo on a street corner, seeking alms.

Apparently, most (absolutely all) of their budget had fallen victim to Irina, and a painting of 'Saint Peter'.

With some effort, Yuuji had refrained from asking if Saint Peter had a nose in real life.

No one quite knew how to react when Yuuji had casually offered to take the poorly made counterfeit off their hands, claiming 'he knew a guy' who could make use of it.

The very hungry Exorcists had been understandably grateful when Akeno offered to feed them, and understandably conflicted about taking charity from a Devil.

With a smile as mischievous as it was indulgent, Akeno had assured the two slightly younger girls that she would keep her wings hidden, and promised not to tell the Church if they didn't.

Any other moral dilemmas were cut off when the plates arrived for Irina, Xenovia and Koneko.

Yuuji just had coffee, and Akeno was sipping delicately on a cup of green tea.

Koneko had eaten more at breakfast than anyone with the possible exception of Suu, who dissolved her food so it was hard to tell, but she hadn't had dessert, and had thus had ordered a monstrously sized parfait.

As a girl, she had a second stomach for sweets, and Yuuji felt a little left out to be the only one not nodding along in agreement.

After the meal, Akeno had paid for the food and the drinks, waving off Yuuji's offer to take the bill.

Akeno was quite popular, in terms of requests and contracts, and, as Rias Gremory's oldest servant, was also quite well-off, even before you factored in that Gremory servants were actually paid, and being basically family, Akeno also had an allowance.

Yuuji was a bit surprised to find out that he was getting the same thing, all of Rias' servants were.

Even Raynare and Kalawarner were being provided for off the record by Rias, from her own pocket, though Kalawarner already had her salary as a teacher.

When questioned, Akeno had teasingly pointed out that not only did he never ask, but Rias would be genuinely surprised to know that he wasn't aware of something so obvious (to Rias anyways), that it didn't bear mentioning in the first place.

The common sense of the absurdly wealthy, he supposed.

Then again, Yuuji's 'part-time job' paid him well enough that money had never been an issue in the first place.

Such thoughts still occupied his mind as they left the diner and headed off, turning down a quiet residential street to-

An all-too familiar, coppery scent snapped him out of his musings, and Yuuji stopped in his tracks, senses straining for the source.

He turned his head quickly towards Akeno to see if she'd noticed, only to find her wide-eyed, with arms wrapped around a trembling, pale Koneko, whispering soothing words in her ears even as her eyes scanned the streets.

The Exorcists, Xenovia with her wrapped Holy Sword in hand and Irina with one hand on the ribbon wrapped around her arm, were shooting glances between the Devils and their surroundings, puzzled but alert.

They only had human senses after all, so it would take longer for them to pick up on-

"Is that… blood?"

Xenovia asked in a hesitant tone.

Before Yuuji could respond, a clattering from the alleyway filled the air, and everyone whirled to find the source of the noise, and the scent, slowly stagger out into view, leaning heavily against the wall.

In better circumstances, Yuuji might have been awfully curious about the woman's drooping, black-furred cat ears, and the twin tails dragging limply on the ground.

Or, perhaps, the fact that the ragged shreds of her elegant black kimono weren't concealing anything they should should.

At the moment, however, he was more focussed on the way her ruined, right arm was so twisted it resembled a cloth being wrung out, and not very well considering all the blood.

Or, that he could still see into the alleyway, by looking into the perfectly cauterized holes in her body, one through her right shoulder, one small one through her left leg, and one in her side, where several organs should be.

One of the woman's golden, cat-like eyes was sealed shut with a mask of dried blood, but the one that wasn't stared blearily _past_ him with a glimmer of recognition.

Completing the grotesque picture, the young, trembling woman had a warm, nostalgic smile on her face.

As if looking at an old friend.

Or, perhaps-

"S-Shirone? That… you? S-stop playing w-with your… friends… school… day… g-get d-dressed…"

Yuuji felt an icy chill run down his spine as a soft whimper drifted out from behind him.

With growing dread, Yuuji slowly turned his head towards the source of the noise, just as the delirious woman ran out of wall to lean against.

She promptly collapsed onto her side with a wet, sickly crunch.

With a plaintive, heart-wrenching scream that would haunt Yuuji for years to come, Toujou Koneko tore herself from Akeno's grasp and rushed forward.

" _NEE-SAMA!"_

* * *

"I should have retired."

"You know, he's in school for less than a week, and not only does he get himself killed without telling me, but he comes back to life as some supernatural creature that shouldn't even exist!?"

"-Yeah, yeah, I know that Yuuji was basically a Devil in personality to begin with, but this is waaayyy too literal!"

"...Heey… are you even listening? You drink way too much, Asako!"

It dimly occurred to JB that she was being unreasonable, coming all this way to visit her oldest friend, only to get drunk during the middle of the day and whine about Yuuji.

But it's not like she had any _other_ friends to get drunk with and complain about her ward to, and Asako was dead so it's not like she could complain.

Or respond, but JB wasn't in a mood to listen anyways.

That her hidden sanctuary from the stressful nature of Yuuji, and the world at large, was a gravestone and an old cabin, would probably look just about as pitiful as JB was currently feeling.

Julia Bardera was also six beers in, however, and considering that both the cabin and the grave were on private property up a small mountain, she felt justified in being as loud as she wanted to be.

"Man, I really screwed things up though."

Loosening the collar of her white shirt, and undoing one or three too many buttons, JB leaned up against the cold stone and stared up into the empty sky.

"He draws trouble like a magnet, but even I couldn't have imagined he'd draw the trouble of an entirely different _world_ when I let him out of sight."

"Should I have moved with him? He wanted to be independent, he didn't need some lonely workaholic weighed down by bad memories hanging over his shoulder. B-but… I leave him alone and this... I'm going to lose him, too...?""

JB clutched a hand to her chest as the clear blue sky began to rain.

"I-I screwed up, I-I can't believe… god, I wish you were still here Asako. It hurts. It hurts so much, why won't it just stop?"

* * *

"Why won't it just stop!? Why won't it stop!? Why won't it-!?"

A frantic little white haired girl was on her knees, trying desperately to stem a river of red, with shaking hands.

The source of the river, an older, black haired woman, was sprawled limply on her side.

"Koneko, please! Calm down, we'll get her help! Rias and Asia are on their-!"

Akeno reached her a heartbeat later, and hissed in pain as her outstretched hand was swatted aside.

Biting her lip, the violet-eyed Queen threw both arms around the smaller girl, holding her tightly.

Koneko struggled for a minute and then went slack hanging against the older girls arms.

"Nee-sama Nee-sama Nee-sama please! Please wake up, please don't leave me!"

Koneko lifted her hands up to her face and screamed into them, a weeping Akeno embracing her as best she could.

Yuuji had just put his phone back in his pocket as red light erupted into the quiet street, and a frantic Rias dashing out of the summoning circle.

Panicked azure eyes sweeping over her servants, only to find them unharmed, she let out an audible sigh of relief and sagged.

… Before her hand snapped out to catch Asia, as she made to rush past her.

Shocked, the little blonde whirled on the red-head with eyes full of bewilderment, and more than a little fear.

"Buchou…?"

Gritting her teeth at Asia's words, Rias released her.

With one last nervous look towards Rias, the Bishop darted over to the prone woman's side, falling to her knees with hands already engulfed in a familiar emerald glow.

"Help her, Asia. Don't let her die."

Even as she spoke, Rias widened her stance, and the air around her began to redden as she watched the prone figure with narrowed eyes.

Beside her, Kiba, with sword at the ready, was shifting his gaze back and forth between the woman on the ground and Koneko, with a concerned grimace.

Unsure of what was happening, the two Fallen Angels stood at the ready just behind the duo, while the Exorcists positioned themselves farther down the road, Xenovia watching the street and a nervous Irina watching the Devils.

Slowly, Yuuji made his way over to his tensed up King, eyes never leaving the body on the ground.

"Buchou… what's going on?"

Rias let out a sharp exhale, eyes flickering briefly in his direction.

When she spoke, her words were pained and halting, hissed out through clenched teeth.

"Kuroka. That's Kuroka… an SS-Class Stray Devil… and Koneko's older sister."

* * *

 _White…?_

 _Was that Shirone? No, that couldn't be, Shirone couldn't be here, here wasn't safe-_

 _Ah, the white was gone. She must have just imagined it, Shirone couldn't be here, here wasn't safe._

 _Gold now, a halo? An Angel…?_

 _Ah, someone must have finally caught her._

 _It was a good thing Shirone wasn't here._

 _It wasn't safe here._

 _It was much too dark, too dark for even her eyes to see._

 _But Shirone wasn't here._

 _Shirone was safe… wasn't she?_

* * *

Asia had managed to stabilize the broken Devil lying on the ground, and shortly after had summoned Suu, with Ruth following through the circle to join them.

Suu had discarded her human-shape, partially engulfing Kuroka in a large, gooey mass that flowed along the ground, back through the portal with Asia and the Fallen in tow.

With the patient safely in motion, Kalawarner had gently scooped up the quivering, unresponsive Koneko to follow along behind.

Rias had sent Kiba along ahead as well, and had addressed the two Exorcists, giving them a vague cover story that they hadn't really believed, but had at least been willing to play along with for now.

The Church duo had then left, opting to continue the search on their own for now.

Pale, Rias had made to return to Akeno and Yuuji, only for Yuuji to subtly shoo her away with a small shake of his head.

Reluctantly conceding, Rias had disappeared in a swirl of red light, flashing her remaining servants concerned looks the whole time.

When they were alone again, Yuuji met Akeno's shaky, tear-stained smile with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm no Asia, but I can at least splint that for you."

Akeno blinked in surprise, unconsciously tucking her hands further behind her back.

Yuuji's raised eyebrow was soon accompanied by a firm scowl.

"Ara ara, w-whatever could Yuuji-kun mean?"

Akeno shifted guilty from one foot to the other, smiling unconvincingly.

"Don't 'ara ara' me, I can smell the ozone, idiot. Stop putting on airs and show me your hand."

As his glare intensified, Akeno slowly brought her hands back in front of her, wincing as her left hand briefly had to release its grip on her right wrist.

The flesh underneath was red and puffy, with an unnatural, almost angular lump on one side.

Akeno's first attempt to reach Koneko had been soundly rebuffed.

In her panic, the mighty little Rook hadn't held back at all, and when she smacked Akeno's hand aside, something in the raven-haired Queen's wrist had snapped.

After releasing Koneko from her awkward embrace, the black-haired Queen had hidden her hands behind her back, using a small current of electricity to numb (and mask) the pain.

Yuuji had been the only one able to hear when the bone gave way, so her attempts to conceal weren't entirely successful.

"Give me a sec."

Before Akeno could protest, Yuuji had slipped off his dark jacket and white collared shirt, leaving him in a dull grey undershirt.

Casually tearing off one sleeve of his shirt, Yuuji jerked his head towards the ground, prompting Akeno to quietly sit on the ground with her legs folded under her, and her wounded limb cradled in her lap.

She let out a soft hiss as he kneeled down beside her and calmly began to probe the wound with his fingers, before he gently grasped her wrist and began to tightly wrap it.

"It's fractured, but everything's lined back up, so you should be able to heal it on your own. Here, slip this on, no one will see it if you don't want them to."

Speaking in a low, calming tone, Yuuji offered Akeno his jacket, helping her slip her arms through the sleeves.

"Thank you, Yuuji."

Akeno offered a warm smile, tugging the jacket snugly around herself.

"No problem. Now, since no one else is here…"

Yuuji opened his arms wide.

Akeno nodded once and leaned forward, resting her head against his chest as Yuuji gently wrapped his arms around her.

Expression blank, Yuuji listened to the quiet, muffled sniffling for a while, occasionally offering a comforting rub of his hand.

Eventually, the sniffling died down, and a more composed Akeno pushed her head away from his chest, smiling up at the dark-eyed boy.

"Better?"

"Better. Wish we had more time to cuddle~."

"Me too, but we should probably head back before anything else crazy happens."

As he spoke, Yuuji rose to his feet, pulling Akeno up alongside him by her uninjured limb.

The two stood hand in hand as Yuuji drew the symbols in the air, the Gremory teleportation circle drawing itself on the ground beneath them in the lifeless grey of Yuuji's power.

Akeno leaned against his shoulder as he worked, content to let Yuuji do the work, even if they both knew she could do it faster.

The circle hummed with readiness, but before it could activate, Yuuji spoke up once more.

"We haven't really been able to talk alone. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Akeno was silent for a moment, humming softly as she leaned against him.

After a moment, she gave her boyfriends hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Mhm, Rias needs you too. Just… don't forget about me, alright? Please, Yuuji?"

Yuuji leaned his head atop the shorter girl's.

"No chance. Sorry, Akeno-san, but you're stuck with me."

Her only response was to press more closely against him, but that was more than enough of an answer for Yuuji.

A heartbeat later, the street was empty.

* * *

Kuroka was currently lying on Asia's bed, and while her wounds had been extensive, they hadn't been nearly as difficult to heal as they'd feared.

As the Bishop did her work, Rias did an examination of her own, examining Kuroka's magical signature to find, that the Stray's mana, her magical energy, was almost completely depleted.

Given that she'd dragged herself an untold distance with broken bones and missing organs, most of it had probably been burned away keeping her body functioning and moving.

Kuroka would survive, but when she awoke, she'd barely have the strength of a normal human her size for the next several days at least.

The shockingly precise, cauterized holes in her body took the most work to fix, identified by Raynare and Kalawarner as the work of a light-wielder of incredible skill.

Given that an Angel was unlikely to take the time to rotate someone's arm past the breaking point, no less than four times, a Fallen Angel was the only logical culprit.

Yuuji had been the one to untwist Kuroka's arm, Asia had nearly passed out from watching, and Koneko, anchored at her sisters bedside, had in fact passed out.

Perhaps for the better.

When they factored in that an SS-Class Stray like Kuroka was easily a match for most High-class Devils, to crawl away from a fight in such a mangled state suggested one obvious, unpleasant explanation.

Kokabiel was in Kuoh.

The fleeting, irrational hope that maybe, just maybe he was acting through proxies, had been cruelly torn away.

Just to make the situation a little bit worse, Rias had been forced to admit that an opponent like Kuroka, under normal circumstances, was likely beyond them at this point.

And if this had been her fate against Kokabiel...

* * *

Once upon a time, there were two nekomata, one of white and a black.

Always together, when these two cats lost their parents and their home, they lived side-by-side, relying on only each other.

One day, a Devil offered these cats a new home.

The black one, the older one, eventually joined the Devil's family, and for a while, both cats wanted for nothing.

It didn't last.

Hidden deep within the black cat, it was found, was a great and terrible power, a power that soon burst free with her transformation into a Devil.

The black one went wild, butchering her master, and when a team was sent to bring her in, and make her answer for her crimes, they met the same fate.

She disappeared shortly after, and has been on the run ever since.

But what of the little white cat, the sister she left behind?

Shielded from the wrath of Hell by a Satan's mercy, the little lost cat was offered to another young Devil, the younger sister of that Satan.

That was how the little white cat, the little Shirone, met Rias Gremory.

That was the day the little white cat was given the name Toujou Koneko.

* * *

"... Somehow, the fact that Koneko is a cat makes the world seem like a more logical and rational place."

Yuuji had a small smirk on his face as he sat with crossed arms.

The smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Of course that would be the first thing you'd- Kalawarner, forgive me for asking, but why are your eyes glittering?"

Rias had been redirected from scolding Yuuji by the odd sight of Kalawarner looking like a kid at Christmas.

The blue-haired woman jerked out of her daze and went red, staring fixedly at the wall and away from everyone else.

Everyone but Asia, Koneko and the two Familiars were present in the common room, the rest still with Kuroka.

Asia was still healing her, Suu was acting as an extra pair of hands as well as temporary restraints, both for security and medical reasons, and Koneko wouldn't leave her sisters bedside.

Ruth was on guard duty.

Raynare giggled and gave Rias a conspiratorial wink.

"Kala-chan is really weak to cute things, why do you think she's so snuggly with Asia?"

"RAY!"

Kalawarner whipped her head back to the smaller girl at her side with a look of betrayal and an even brighter blush than before.

"Is Kuroka the reason none of us know about Koneko?"

Yuuji interrupted, catching the concerned look that Akeno and Kiba shared.

Rias let out a small sigh, buried sadness peeking through.

"It is. The two sisters aren't just Nekomata, they're Nekoshou, a rare and incredibly powerful subspecies that is nearly extinct. Koneko is so afraid of her heritage since Kuroka went wild, that she hasn't touched her abilities as a Nekoshou at all. She's been hiding her tail and ears from everyone, trying to forget. All of us who lived at the Gremory house are aware of the truth, but none of us have even seen her Nekoshou features in years."

Kiba and Akeno nodded in confirmation, the old worries clearly marked on their faces.

"Well, far be it for me to pry. We have a more immediate worry on our hands."

The room went dead as Yuuji locked his dark, probing gaze onto Rias.

"Buchou, what are we going to do with Kuroka?"

Rias winced, but Yuuji held his tongue, waiting patiently.

After a moment, Rias took a deep breath and spoke.

"As she is, Kuroka is no longer a threat. That will change drastically when her power recovers, but Akeno and I have a way to inhibit that, and give us more time."

"I can assist as well. I'm familiar with the rituals necessary, at least in theory."

Kalawarner interjected, her usual stoic expression returned.

"Thank you. We don't have any proper holding cells here in the dorm, but with time to prepare, we can keep her safely restrained for the immediate future."

"Suu-chan would make for a good back-up plan, ufufu. The little cuties techniques are awfully _advanced_ ~."

Akeno's grin was ear-to-ear.

Rias gave an embarrassed cough before continuing.

"Indeed, between our various resources we have ample ability to keep Kuroka, in her weakened state, restrained until a decision is made. I do not wish to subject Koneko to that, regardless of how dangerous Kuroka may be, but-"

"And if you're wrong?"

Yuuji's eyes bored into Rias with a frightful intensity, and Rias found that as much as she might want to, she couldn't look away.

"Y-Yuuji?"

Rias wasn't sure if it was her voice, or someone else's, that had broken the sudden, crushing silence.

"If she's still a threat, if she's as uncontrollable as your story suggests… what will you do, _Buchou?_ "

At some point the room had fallen away, and for Rias, nothing was left but the cold black orbs that pierced through her, leaving her feeling naked and exposed.

"I-if Kuroka is still a threat… I can't choose her over any of you. No matter what Koneko might think, I won't, I _can't_ make that choice. It doesn't matter how weak or injured Kuroka might be."

The black eyes narrowed, impatient.

Under their merciless scrutiny, and the demand they carried, Rias trembled and shook.

 _Say the words, Rias._

"If it comes down to it, if there is no other choice…"

Rias took a deep, shuddering breath, and stood up straight, the steel in her eyes concealing the wish that such a choice need never be made.

"If need be, I'll kill Kuroka."

* * *

The rest of the evening had passed in a tense, uneasy silence, and Kuroka had not awoken.

Koneko hadn't taken well, at first, to the restraints placed on her sister, but the effort to make her agree had been surprisingly little.

No one mentioned anything, but the reason was clear.

Even glued to her side as she was, Koneko was still afraid of Kuroka.

Yuuji had been indifferent to that revelation, because it made perfect sense to him.

Few things were more frightening than an older sister.

He was glad he'd never told _his_ sister that.

They'd kept watch throughout the night, and in the morning, they'd reunited with the Church Exorcists to continue their search.

In the end, only Asia remained behind of the Devils.

Rias had wanted to leave more behind, but Ruth had bluntly told her that she had enough problems already, and that Suu and he were more than enough to handle one comatose feline.

Koneko wanted to stay, of course, but Rias put her foot down, refusing to let her Rook sit around and make herself sick with worry.

Surprisingly, the Exorcists hadn't pushed for an explanation, perhaps believing (and not incorrectly) that due to Koneko's reaction, whatever transpired was a family matter.

Xenovia had flatly asked if there was a problem that they should know about, and when Rias gave a firm no in response, said no more.

She had, however, been grateful when Rias admitted that the attack was strong evidence that something powerful was lurking in Kuoh.

Irina, it seemed, was trying hard not to think about it.

The girl had grown more and more tense, and the members of the ORC were more than a little puzzled to find that they couldn't quite place her reasons for being so.

Even more so that when give the circumstances, her reasons should be painfully obvious.

Thus, the two groups had resumed their search, with a great deal more caution, and even more frequent contact, now that it seemed more likely than ever that Kokabiel was in Kuoh.

It was a weekend, so they had planned to stay out searching well into the night.

Of course, such was the nature of things that while Rias and her companions moved about, _others_ were moving as well.

The sun had just dipped below the horizon when the dorm was attacked.

* * *

He supposed the wards weren't badly made, for Devils anyways.

Nothing more than an alarm system, nothing to be alarmed about as long as the Devils were busy elsewhere.

It never occurred to him that just maybe, the wards didn't _need_ to be strong.

But of all things, a dormitory?

These Devils were having too much fun pretending to be students.

Secretly laughing behind the backs of the pitiful human 'classmates' they played around with like dolls.

 _Disgusting._

They quietly opened the glass front doors, if the Stray was awake by now, she'd be expecting Fallen like them to come from up high, not deign to place their boots on the ground.

So of course, _most_ of them had done just that.

It was that kind of self-assured arrogance that made Devils inferior, and it was that inferiority that would become the noose around her neck, just like it had for so many others of her kind.

Kokabiel had wished it so, and so it would be.

They hadn't even left anyone of 'significance' to guard the Stray, just the healer and her pets.

The healer was an added bonus, Twilight Healing was something even Lord Kokabiel considered to be of some small use.

The first floor of the building was dark, unsurprising that the Devils would shy away from the light like the vermin they were.

His squad had just started to advance out of the entryway when the boy walked down the stairs, blinking in mild surprise at the intruders.

Dressed all in black, the boy had dark, shaggy hair, tan skin, and blood red eyes.

His gaze was more curious and scrutinizing than afraid, and while he obviously wasn't human, he didn't seem to be-

"A Familiar? Just one of the Devils pets, where's your Master, beast?"

His voice was laden with condescension, as he called out imperiously to the thing wearing human shape.

If the 'boy' was offended by the rude treatment, he gave no indication, merely raising one eyebrow and tilting his head.

"Sorry, no one's home. Come back later?"

His voice was soft, calm.

His eyes narrowed at the plaything that thought it could lie to him.

Behind him, the rest of his comrades fanned out, into the dark common room.

"Don't play dumb, creature. We tracked the Stray cat all the way here, we'll leave once we have her head. Play along, and maybe we'll let you leave before we bring this place down on top of her."

The creature frowned softly.

"Mind if I make a suggestion of my own?"

The 'boy' offered, speaking still calm.

"You're in no position to negotiate."

The pets of Devils were just like the Devils themselves, weren't they?

Always trying to strike a _deal_.

He watched as the boy shrugged his shoulders carelessly, that flippant attitude of his beginning to wear on his nerves.

"Then it's a good thing I wasn't asking."

The Fallen scowled, and a dull yellow light-spear flared to life in his hands.

The rest of the squad followed suit, the light of the Fallen illuminating the darkness.

Unimpressed, the thing by the stairs continued on as if righteous and well-deserved death wasn't staring at it from every angle.

"Leave, and live. Stay, and die. I don't care either way, but you don't have a lot of time."

A hand was raised, slowly pointing towards the exit.

In spite of himself, the Fallen let his eyes follow the prompt, and found that the glass door had been blocked by some kind of watery, translucent blue film.

A barrier?

No, a chance to make the situation clear.

Turning away from it with a roll of his eyes and a derisive sneer, the leader gave his orders.

"You three at the back, tear that barrier down, show this Devil's pet exactly who it's dealing with. The rest of you, up the stairs and find the Stray and Twilight Healing. If it gets in your way, exterminate it like you would any other vermin."

For the first time, the Familiar showed shock on its face as several hurled light-spears destroyed the flimsy barrier with a hiss and a sizzle.

The rest of his squad moved forward and-

"Sir…?"

"What!?"

Whipping his head around, he fixed an irritated gaze on the trio that had been ordered to destroy the barrier.

A trio of light-spears had pierced the watery film, and now were slowly being -sucked in- and _dissolved_ , tiny motes of light trickling downwards like stardust.

A bone-weary sigh drifted through the air.

"You idiots. I take back everything I said before. You're after Twilight Healing? Even if I stayed put, you're all going to die here."

The Familiar by the doorway shook his head in disgust, and the room fell away.

It took a moment for them to realize.

The common room was pitch black, illuminated _only_ by the dim light of their spears.

As if they'd reached the edge of the world itself, and found not a single glimmer of light remaining.

… Every single one of them had near _flawless_ vision in the dark.

No shadows could, _should_ be able to hide from the watchful eyes of the Fallen.

Everyone should have clear view of the common room, with its couches and table.

Or down the hall, to the staircase or the kitchen.

Despite that, they could see each other clearly, as if each of them was standing up in front of some midnight canvas.

Ahead of them, were the Familiar should be, were twin orbs of crimson that flickered like candles, before wafting away in an unseen breeze.

Behind them, the translucent blue barrier faded to an opaque black, lingering pinpricks of lights from the hurled spears twinkling dimly like stars in a moonless sky.

From somewhere in the darkness _between_ their tense formation, feminine, rippling laughter sounded.

The twin red candles appeared once more, this time lower to the ground.

A low, rumbling growl drifted out from somewhere very, very close.

As if that was the appointed signal, the darkness _thrashed_ and the world went mad.

Then the dying started.

To his left, the sound of snarling, snapping jaws accompanied the sudden theft of one of his comrades light-spears.

The man started screaming when he discovered his entire _arm_ stolen as well.

Hot, dark liquid sprayed wildly in every direction as he flailed.

The darkness to his front _wriggled_ , and something wrapped around one of the female Fallen's waists, whipping her deeper into the room.

Abruptly, a dull, wet snap heralded a sudden reverse of momentum, and she collided with another Fallen with a terrible, sickly crunch.

They collapsed in a broken, boneless heap in the failing light and the darkness took them.

Another low growl, and the red lights reappeared in a flickering trail, weaving around a thrusting light-spear to bear the wielder to the floor.

Screams turned to gurgles as something closed around the victims throat with a wet tearing noise.

The warrior that moved to aid his stricken ally collapsed, as the floor heaved and engulfed his legs, before he was sucked out of sight.

A pair of tan hands reached out from the shadows towards a Fallen neck, and a dull snap told him all he needed to know.

A woman screamed as unseen fangs sunk into her calf, pulling her off her feet, to bounce and flail of walls and floors that couldn't be seen, but certainly could be felt.

She stopped screaming on the third impact.

One of the men's last nerves broke, and he screamed and threw himself where the barrier should have been.

The blackness he hurled himself towards stretched out to embrace him with a cry full of childlike exuberance.

A split second view of him, as his form began to give way around the edges, and then he too was gone.

There was tearing, and screaming, and snarling, and that infernal, watery _giggle_.

Their leader wasn't quite sure when he started running, but suddenly he found himself tripping _out_ of the darkness, onto a still unlit, but easily visible staircase.

Pulling himself to his feet, he had just made it to the first landing when the growling started once more, from the top of the next flight of stairs.

The dark shadow on the wall rippled like still water, and a great black hound stepped out of the wall itself.

Eyes blazing red, and its tail winding and fluttering around it like some living banner.

Dark crimson liquid dripped from its jaws as it slowly lifted its blood-drenched muzzle to regard him.

He summoned his spear with a yell, and the hound was already in the air.

The air was crushed from his lungs, and his light-spear shattered as the hound smashed him into the floor, great paws pinning both his shoulders.

Fallen Angel and Black Grim locked eyes.

{"You made the wrong choice."}

He didn't get the chance to respond.

* * *

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Were they okay?

Ruth had heard a noise from downstairs, and he and Suu had gone to investigate.

Since then, it had been dead silent and they hadn't come back yet and Asia was starting to get worried that something might have-

Asia screamed and fell back as the glass door of her balcony shattered, a figure with black feathered wings crashing through it to skid to a halt in front of her.

The Fallen Angel loomed over the terrified Bishop, his cruel smirk widening when he noticed the bandaged patient lying on her bed.

That smirk vanished when the supposedly unconscious patient exploded into motion, and pounced on him with a feral, feline hiss.

Pinning him to the ground with one delicate hand digging into his shoulder, the other lifted itself high into the air.

With a jolt, long, elegant nails extended into long, elegant claws,and the Fallen's panicked screams becoming wet, choking gurgles as they flashed in the fading light of dawn.

Breathing hard, Kuroka rose from the twitching corpse with a drunken sway, crimson dipped hand dripping onto the carpeted floor.

Asia, from her seat on the floor, shuffled back just a touch as piercing, slitted eyes trained themselves on her.

She was both relieved and confused when the predator's glare melted into an easy, welcoming smile.

"Thanks for the help nyaa~."

The dangerous Stray gave the bewildered little Bishop a conspiratorial wink.

"But as you can see, I'm all fine after my little cat nap, so I'll just see myself out~."

She managed a single step before she staggered and caught herself on the bedpost, one hand pressed to her forehead.

"What did they… tell me they didn't…"

In a panic, Asia scrambled to her feet and rushed past the slumped Nekoshou, throwing her arms wide to block her exit.

The Stray's welcoming expression shifted back into a cold glare.

"N-no! You can't! You're still hurt, you'll die if you go out there! I-I won't let you!"

Kuroka let out a long, tired sigh as she pushed herself off the bedpost, grunting softly from the exertion.

Instead of hostility, her gaze was filled with a weary resignation.

"Please, please don't make me go through you."

Kuroka whispered softly, eyes pleading with the fearful Bishop.

She was a little taken aback when in response, the trembling little blonde scrunched her eyes shut and covered them with both her hands.

"I'm sorry Kuroka-san."

Too distracted by Asia's inexplicable behavior, and too injured to be fully aware, Kuroka didn't notice someone joining them, slipping into the room _under_ the door, until it was too late.

Gooey, ropey tendrils coiled their way up her legs, sending a strange current through her body as they wound higher and higher.

At the same time, another pair of tendrils coiled around her wrists, hoisting her into the air.

Before she even knew what was happening, the weakened Stray found herself helplessly hung and immobilized.

"W-what is- nyaa~ w-where are you t-t-touching!?"

Asia's voice was faintly apologetic, but firm as she gave the grim command.

"Suu. _Do the thing._ "

Kuroka shivered as a wet-sounding, girlish giggle rippled out, inches from her ear.

* * *

Leaning on the wall outside Asia's door, in his two-legged form, Ruth heard Suu's laughter, and rolled his eyes, knowing things were well in hand.

Pushing himself off the wall, Ruth made his way downstairs, stopping briefly to fling the last Fallen he'd killed, sprawled unceremoniously across the landing, over his shoulder.

Suu could have her fun and keep an eye on the patient, and Asia.

Meanwhile, he'd at least pull the corpses from the common room before Yuuji and the rest returned.

At least none of them had made it to the kitchen.

It was times like these when one should focus on the little blessings-

From back up the stairs, a wail of ecstasy resounded.

… Little blessings, like how Suu preferred women.

* * *

It was moments before the attack on the dorm, and Rias' group were encountering troubles of their own.

She, with Yuuji, Koneko, and Kiba in tow, had made another pass of an old chapel on the western side of town, one of the few that while defunct, was still being maintained.

Earlier searches of the building and its surroundings had proven fruitless, but today brought with it one key difference.

Namely, lounging on the rooftop, over top the open doorway, was a slender figure in a dark green clothing vaguely reminiscent of a priest's garments.

White hair framed a bone white mask, and precariously balancing on one finger, by the sharp point, was a short sword with a strangely twisted blade.

The Holy aura that pulsed off it in waves made its nature clear.

"How do you do, Stray Exorcist-san?"

Rias' voice was unfailingly polite, even as her eyes narrowed slightly.

Kiba stepped up beside her with blade at the ready.

"That one's Nightmare, Buchou."

He explained quietly.

"Hoh, the little Devil Knight is still kicking? Well, it would have been boring if you died, that gross sword of yours did a real number on me."

Despite the playful words, the masked boys words were dull, almost mechanical.

Yuuji and Koneko took Rias' other flank, some distance behind her.

The air had begun to redden as Rias put two and two together with a murderous hiss.

Before she could say anything, heavy footsteps and a new voice joined the mix.

"Now, now, show some manners to our guests. After all, Isaiah has come to greet us, and he even brought his King and her other pets along."

The knowing voice was laden with a warm cheer, as a paunchy old man in priestly raiment strode out the open door with a genial smile on his face.

With a snarl, Kiba took one look at the man and exploded into motion.

"Sword Birth!"

The ornate barrier of light rebuffed the trio of swords that hurtled through the air, but through it, they could see the old man's eyes widen in surprise.

He had nearly been too slow, and the first blade hurled by the Gremory Knight, rather than bounce off the barrier, had been caught halfway _through_ it.

Kiba flashed a feral grin full of a serpent's venom.

"Careful Valper, wouldn't want to lose that smug smile of yours."

Kiba's gleeful tone suggested he wouldn't have been put out if he had.

Valper Galilei blinked once, and gave a hearty chuckle as the barrier dissolved, Kiba's embedded blade falling to the ground with a clatter.

"You're not nearly as uncontrolled as I expected, dear Isaiah. A change of heart, perhaps?"

"No such luck, I just want to keep my head clear. I intend to cherish the memory of your fat face after I fill it with sharp pointy things."

"Yuuto!"

In spite of the situation, Rias found herself gaping at her well-mannered Knight's sudden burst of vicious trash-talking.

It must be Yuuji's bad influence, she had raised Yuuto better than-

 _ **Smack**_

She sighed the sigh of the damned at the sound that echoed out from behind her, which certainly hadn't been her Pawn and Rook taking the opportunity to _high-five_.

Eerie, discordant laughter filled the air.

The masked swordsman, still reclining on the edge of the roof, had his head tilted upwards as he laughed, sword now firmly in hand.

The mask tilted at an odd angle to regard the Devils below.

"Man, I've been wasting time, who knew the Gremory's were this much fun?"

In stark contrast to the eager laughter and even more eager words, the voice, slightly muffled behind the mask, sounded almost bored.

Lifeless and dull.

"For some reason, he kinda pisses me off."

A lifeless, dull, but vaguely irritated voice came from behind her, her Pawn regarding the Exorcist with a narrowed gaze.

Koneko nodded empathetically.

The Exorcist rolled off the roof and landed beside Valper with a dull thud, and that's when Rias tore off the thin veil concealing all the rage and stress she'd accumulated as of late.

Like the jaws of some hellish beast, the wave of black and red Destruction that surged forth opened wide to embrace its targets.

When the smoke and dust cleared, Stray Exorcist and Stray Bishop were hunkered down behind a fortress wall of Holy light.

Speaking of walls, a hefty chunk of the chapel behind them had simply vanished, the barest traces of ash drifting away on the wind.

Any traces of the doorway had vanished entirely.

The Exorcist gave a low whistle as he poked his head out from behind the barrier, and that was right about when the flash-bang from Yuuji's Sacred Gear blew up in his face.

The masked boy jerked away and fell with a sharp cry, but Valper's barrier served its purpose, leaving him only blinking rapidly rather than temporarily blinded.

Rias sent stream after stream of her Power of Destruction howling against the shimmering shield, alternating between straight, narrow lines and looping arcs, keeping Valper pinned down.

It turned into a firefight when glowing, lantern-like shapes rose up behind the Archbishop, firing what looked like small light-spears at the Gremory King.

Rias weaved around the searing bolts, or when that didn't work, slashed them out of the air with short waves of Destruction.

Focussed on defense, it seemed like the grinning Valper had regained his footing.

So of course, that's when Yuuji and Kiba hit from either side.

The recovered Exorcist met Kiba blade to blade from the right side, engaging him in a back and forth, high speed sword duel.

Valper's barrier cut its way through the ground with absurd speed to catch Yuuji's spray of bullets, but not quickly enough.

A single bullet from the M16 slipped through, and went right through Valper, just above the collarbone and barely an inch from his throat.

Even as the Archbishop howled his agony, Yuuji clicked his tongue at the failure.

And then rolled his eyes with a smirk, as the _fina_ l member of their search party completed her task.

A midnight blur swept up Valper from the side, right before Koneko's stomping heel could bring the roof down on his head.

The sky darkened as well over a dozen Fallen Angels appeared in the sky, above the ruined chapel.

Their leader was made readily apparent by the fact he had eight more wings than everyone else in the clearing.

He also had a dangling old man, hanging by the scruff of his neck, like some wrinkly, unruly kitten.

Bone-white skin, and red and gold eyes stared down at the Devil's below with the air of an indulgent father.

"Kokabiel."

Rias spoke his name like an accusation, as Kiba broke away from the Stray Exorcist and Yuuji and Koneko returned to her side.

"Oh? To think my humble self would be recognized by the esteemed Gremory heiress, I suppose I must have done _something_ right."

Kokabiel let out a rich chuckle as he spoke, but the way he smiled and spoke politely was setting off every warning bell the Devils could ever hear.

Rias stood proudly, crimson locks fluttering in the breeze as her icy blue eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as she smiled up at the Cadre.

"Indeed, I hear you've been causing quite a bit of commotion. Tell me, why have you brought yourself to my city unannounced? The proper channels exist for a reason, perhaps their use was warranted?"

"Ah, forgive me, in my excitement I seem to have forgotten my manners."

Kokabiel chuckled again, looking genuinely apologetic.

No one was fooled.

"Pray tell, what has a Cadre so excited that he would personally bring himself to _my_ home?"

Rias put her hands on her hips as she made her inquiry.

"Why, dear little Gremory, the only thing that _ever_ gets me excited these days."

Kokabiel leaned forward in midair, and his polite facade slipped away like oil.

" _ **The prospect of War."**_

The clearing froze as Rias jerked back with a sharp hiss.

"War!? ... Are you mad? War would kill us all, there would be _no_ winners!"

Kokabiel's grin turned shark-like.

"You are wrong, little Gremory. _We_ will be the winners. After all, how could we not?"

Kokabiel swept his arms wide, as if making a grand speech.

The Fallen at his back listened with hushed breaths and eager eyes, while the Devils below listened with mounting horror.

" _We_ have the Light of Heaven without its chains, _we_ indulge in all the pleasures the Underworld can offer, without being _slaves_ to our passions! As our brethren rot in their gilded cages up above, you Devils wallow in the dark of the earth like beasts! Tell me, how does that make we, the Grigori, anything _but_ superior?"

A brief instance of shock flickered across the the Cadre's face, as if his words were as much a surprise to him as anyone else.

"Ah, don't misunderstand, it's not as if I plan to eradicate _all_ of you-"

"Kind of you."

Came Yuuji's dry murmur.

"- I just want to trim off the excess, until there's a manageable number."

Kokabiel continued on, as if he hadn't heard.

"A manageable number? Dare I ask?"

Rias spoke with an even tone, as if nothing he'd said had fazed her at all.

"Indeed, you see, our numbers are small, and so if we're going to teach you anything of value without stretching ourselves thin, we'll have to do away with a handful or so of the less than worthy."

"T-teach us?"

Rias' balked at the bizarre statement.

"Precisely! You see, Miss Gremory, we Fallen are the only faction of the Great Three who possess true freedom. Whether it is to the rules of Heaven, or the rampant desires of Hell, you poor souls are all nothing more than slaves! And as such, it is my duty, nay, my pleasure to set you free!"

Kokabiel placed one hand on his heart as he continued his impassioned speech.

"You're… you're insane."

The Gremory heiress spoke in little more than a whisper, eyes wide with shock.

"Oh, but I must beg your forgiveness once more. The other leaders among the factions cling so desperately to the sinking ship of this false peace, and to loosen their grips, I must do something truly… d _rastic_."

The Devils stiffened at the unsettling realization that Kokabiel seemed genuinely _regretful_.

"For example, laying claim to several of the Church's precious Holy Swords… and using them to lay claim to the lives of two of Hell's most promising heirs."

Rias took as step back as her peerage took a step forward.

"That's your plan!? Sona and I!? That will never-"

Wide-eyed, she shook her head in denial.

"Lying is unbecoming, Devil or not."

Kokabiel shook his finger chidingly.

"Tell me, how will Lucifer react when the head of his precious little sister finds it way to his doorstep? And if he isn't enough, how will Leviathan react when _she_ finds the same?"

Rias' retort died in her throat.

"My thoughts exactly. It would not be inaccurate to say that the... d _oting_ nature of those two Satans has spread… far and wide."

Kokabiel looked like he wanted to say more, but suddenly snapped his fingers as if recalling an important detail.

More than one Devil flinched at the sound.

"Speaking of siblings… which one of you is the cat?"

Rias let out a frustrated hiss, as before she or Kiba could stop themselves, they had closed protectively in front of the trembling Koneko.

Kokabiel's unpleasant grin stretched wide.

"So sad to see one who conceals their heritage… but I imagine she's not the only one among your servants, no? Now, on to the matter at hand, I hope that you didn't leave the Stray anywhere too important? I had planned to let her go, initially, but my men were growing restless."

Kokabiel winked at the horrified Devils.

"So I sent a few of them to _finish the job_."

Rias stood up ramrod straight as a familiar chill washed down her spine.

The wards had been broken.

Someone was trespassing in _her_ domain.

" _ASIA!"_

" _NEE-SAMA!"_

Koneko at her side.

Rias froze, throwing out one arm to keep Koneko in place, with an anguished snarl as she glared up at the Cadre.

Meanwhile, the men of the Gremory household stood in silent watch against the floating Fallen.

Kokabiel tilted his head in curiosity, as if noticing them for the first time.

Valper had been passed off to one of his men at some point, and the Exorcist had slipped away while no one was watching.

"The blonde must be the Isaiah Galilei keeps raving about… and the other…"

Kokabiel examined Yuuji with a soft frown, before his eyes lit up in excitement.

"A Devil that smells of gun-smoke? It couldn't… no, it is, it must be…! No, no, I mustn't spoil the surprise. It seems _they_ are still asleep. Run along now, little Soldier, your Master seems like she's in a hurry."

Kokabiel made a shooing gesture.

"Sunrise, little Gremory. Make your peace by then, for it will be the last you'll see. Your precious little toy-box of a school will be our stage, face your fate with honor and I'll offer a swift end. It is the one small mercy I have left to offer."

With a swirl of black feathers, Kokabiel and his forces vanished.

The last of her restraint vanished, Rias led her servants charging through the transportation circle a second later, one hand drawing a symbol beside her ear to summon Akeno and her group.

* * *

Rias came bursting off the Gremory teleportation circle, another golden Gremory symbol announcing the arrival of Akeno's group, sans the Exorcist duo.

Arriving directly in front of the dormitory, ready for the worst, they found…

Nothing at all.

The glass doors were closed, the wards were intact…

Rias breathed an audible sigh of relief.

Striding forward, she swung open the door, smiling indulgently as Koneko made to dash past, the worry finally too much.

She caught the little Rook a second later with a sharp hiss.

"Buchou."

Speaking quietly, Kiba pointed past her.

"I see it, Yuuto."

An odd shaped depression where something had slammed hard into the wall.

A faint splattering of red in the carpet.

An unnaturally neat hole stabbed into the floor.

And a great black hound, lying prone on the floor…

In a warm patch of sunlight.

A single blood red eye cracked open to look at the dumbstruck arrivals.

{"Back so soon?"}

Rias let out a shuddering sigh of relief, before straightening, eyes hard, and striding forward.

"Ruth, did they… did anyone…?"

{"Do you mean did any Fallen visit?"}

Rias stumbled.

"... Yes?"

{"Oh, I told them you weren't home. Had you been expecting guests?"}

Ruth's dull voice had an uncanny similarity to Yuuji's.

Perhaps the real reason they'd bonded so readily.

"You… told them we weren't home?"

Rias' disbelieving tone was slow and stuttering.

{"Yep."}

Akeno's strained, nervous giggle slipped out from behind her.

"Did they… leave?"

{"No, they're still here."}

"What do you mean they're still here!?"

Rias cast her gaze about wildly, as if expecting Fallen Angels to jump out at any moment.

{"I didn't really have anywhere else to dump the bodies."}

"Bodies?"

This time the hesitant question came from Raynare.

{"Bodies. Obviously, Suu and I killed them all."}

Ruth gave a lazy yawn as he spoke, the sun hitting his fur just right.

Silence reigned, but one lone figure, unfazed by the revelation, walked forward, leaning down to…

Pet his faithful dog for a job well done.

"Good work, Ruth."

{"Yeah."}

"Any injuries? How're the other two?"

{"Nah, nothing to report… oh, I take that back, the cat woke up for a little bit. She's not so bad, you know, for a cat."}

Ignoring the panicked noise that came from the background, Yuuji tilted his head, even as he rubbed behind his Familiar's ears.

{"Yeah, one of them was feeling clever and broke through Asia's window- which needs fixed by the way- but the cat woke up long enough to leap to Asia's defence before she tried to escape."}

Ruth continued in a conversational sort of tone.

"What do you mean, _tried_ to escape!? Her magic should be too weak for her to try anything!"

Bewildered, this time Rias managed to interject successfully.

A worried Koneko was at her side, looking like she was barely keeping herself from dashing off.

{"Cats have claws, Buchou. Still, she didn't seem to want to hurt Asia to escape, and, well… Suu exists. I'm sure _you_ of all people understand, Buchou."}

Rias, and Akeno, both shivered.

As was sometimes the case, their reasons for doing so weren't quite the same.

{"Suu and Asia are still with the cat upstairs, who's probably back asleep. Fighting in her weakened state took a lot out of her, and no, don't worry Koneko, your sister wasn't hurt."}

The little Rook let out an explosive sigh of relief and hurried her way up the staircase and out of sight without a word, not willing to be away from her sister any longer.

{"We should get upstairs as well, Asia needs to get some proper rest now that Kuroka is stable, and Suu isn't feeling well."}

"I thought you said no one got hurt!"

Raynare spoke up first.

{"I did, but she also ate at least half a dozen light-spears. Remember what Satooji said in the forest, about how Magi-Slimes try to make people feel good? Magic is affected by emotion, and Suu feels those emotions in turn from the magic she consumes."}

Ruth explained calmly.

"So… what happens when the magic she eats was used to attack her?"

{"She's essentially absorbing all their hostility and bloodlust. Suu is a kind soul, though, so mostly it just makes her feel grumpy and irritable. Let her soak in one of the tubs for the night and she'll be fine. Diluting her body dilutes the effects."}

"Oh, that makes sense! Thanks for explaining, Ruth!"

Raynare gave an grateful nod at the explanation, smiling cheerfully at the Grim before twirling away.

"Just like that, Ray-chan?"

Akeno was giving her a bemused smile.

"Yeah, Ru-kun is really good at explaining things!"

Ruth, who had just risen to his feet, stumbled, all four legs suddenly very necessary.

{"... Ru-kun?"}

"Do you… not like it? Suu calls you Ru, so I thought that was your nickname?"

Raynare leaned towards him hesitantly, arms tucked behind her back.

{"No… just surprised?"}

Ruth relented, and the Fallen Angel's smile immediately returned.

"Mkay!"

Raynare flounced away and up the staircase, the others following suit, leaving the bewildered Familiar standing there.

Yuuji sympathetically placed a hand on his fur.

"I'd tell you you get used to it, but I'd be lying."

* * *

Upstairs in Asia's room, it was found that Suu was the only one still completely awake, sitting on the floor with her raincoat open, beside the shattered porch window.

The broken glass that should have been on the floor had already been swept up by her and dissolved.

Asia and Koneko were both sitting with their legs folded beneath them. beside the bed, the tired blonde having finally succumbed to her exhaustion, and Koneko's head was already starting to droop, one of her hands entwined with Kuroka's, who lay passed out on the bed.

Asia had a blanket draped over her shoulders.

Suu had lifted one translucent finger to her lips in a shushing gesture as they came in, and that motion had also drawn everyone's eyes towards her.

Two things were immediately apparent.

One, her pale blue body had become a murky, midnight blue, and two, there was, well, _more_ of her.

Normally the Slime's height and proportions were similar to Asia's, but now she had filled out, and grown in height, to become more in line with Raynare.

At her wordless beckon, Kalawarner had entered the room and gently scooped up Asia (who's response to being moved was to snuggle into Kalawarner's chest) in her arms, blanket and all, bringing the blonde downstairs to the room they typically shared with Raynare.

Raynare followed behind, hands tucked behind her as she walked with an adoring smile on her face.

When Rias had stared indecisively at the two sleeping Nekoshou, Suu had slipped quietly over to her, and offered an explanation in a surprisingly eloquent fashion.

"Buchou, the Stray cat thrashes around in her sleep like she's having some horrible nightmare, but she calmed the second Koneko took her hand. Look at the two of them… They're the most honest about their feelings, it seems, when they're asleep."

The gently smiling Slime then stepped past them, her normal squishing steps making hardly a sound.

Akeno passed her heading into the room, pulled back the blanket over Kuroka and carefully lifted Koneko on the bed, without straining the two sisters grip.

She then tucked them back in with a pleased smile as they nestled up against each other.

Suu twisted back to the group, just before she stepped onto the stairs.

"I need to borrow one of the pools downstairs, all this Light is giving me a headache. Leave me be for a while, please, and don't let Asia come downstairs under any circumstances."

She still smiled as she spoke, but there was a clear strain to it.

"Oh, and Buchou, is there a procedure here, or shall I dispose of the bodies? If I use the magic I've absorbed, I should be able to return to normal more quickly. I don't want Asia to worry when she wakes up."

Rias scrutinized the Slime carefully for a moment before replying.

"No, they're considered Strays, so their disposal is entirely our decision… are you sure you're alright, Suu?"

The Slime nodded her head slowly, the weary, aged expression so out of place on a face that was normally soft and child-like.

"I just need to get the poison out of my system. Please, just let me be alone for a while. Controlling myself is hard like this."

"Okay then, if you're sure. Just remember, you're part of this family too."

Rias offered a warm smile, dismissing the Slime girl.

Suu offered one last, grateful nod, and then locked eyes briefly with Ruth before slipping away.

Only when the Slime was well out of sight, on her way to the basement floor, did she stop trying to fake things, stop trying to keep things contained.

Each soft footfall made a faint hiss as it contacted the floor.

* * *

Cold.

The first thing she noticed when she awoke was the cold.

It was dark, it was cold, where was she?

 _ **… It hurt.**_

Everything hurt.

Where was she?

… It was dark, and the wall she was sitting up against was cold and hard, like stone.

She couldn't seem to do much more than turn her head, so she strained about to catch glimpse of her surroundings.

 _ **...Her wings ached.**_

Why did her wings ache?

 _ **It was so cold.**_

As her vision slowly returned to normal, she caught glimpse of a dark shape, crouched and turned slightly away from her, some distance away.

"Ara? One of you is still awake? You poor dear."

The voice that drifted out was soft and serene.

The figure turned her head to regard her, and she caught sight of warm, shining pink eyes.

The figure, the woman, rose to her feet, and it became clear why she was so difficult to see.

The elegant, womanly curves of her body were a translucent black, with a watery sheen to it, the tendrils that passed for hair turning pink near the ends.

Full lips curled in a mysterious, sultry smile, as if indulging in some secret amusement that only a woman like her could ever be privy to.

Swirling about in between what little space was provided by her tight, flat stomach, just visible in the gloom…

 ** _Pitch-black feathers, slowly melting away._**

The memories came back in violent, nauseating flashes.

 _An easy mission._

 _Finish the Stray, find the former Holy Maiden._

 _Their progress halted by that bizarre, nonchalant young man who passed for a guardian._

 _Darkness and water and teeth around her ankle and then-_

She tried to push herself away, push herself up to her feet, but her body just wouldn't obey.

It was then that she realized what was lying on the floor around her.

Her comrades.

What was left of her comrades.

 _Slowly melting into the watery abyss that submerged them._

 ** _Just like her._**

The woman, the Slime watching her, tilted her head and watched, still with that faint, secretive smile as she choked back a terrified sob.

"Oh, you remember now, do you?"

With all the grace and poise of an empress descending from her throne, the Slime began her advance.

Hips swaying as her body rippled slightly with every slow, measured step.

"I couldn't care less about the cat."

In her desperation, she managed just the barest of movements, but there was nowhere she could go.

"But you naughty crows tried to prey on my sweet little Asia."

The Slime sauntered closer.

"But now, surely you understand…"

Standing over her, the Slime stared down at her with a triumphant smile.

"That the only prey here is _you_."

Straddling her, the Slime sat in her lap and squished their chests together with a wet, muted sizzle.

A pained hiss died into a panicked whimper as the line between two bodies began to blur.

"And so of course…"

Cold, damp hands gently, firmly held her head in place, forcing the terror-stricken Fallen to stare deeply into warm, glittering pink eyes, and full, pursed lips, drawing ever closer.

"You have no right to complain..."

"P-please… don't… please- _NOOOO!_ "

 _ **"When I eat you instead."**_

* * *

Standing tall and proud in her perfectly fit school uniform, Rias Gremory stood before her family with her hands on her wide hips.

Sunrise was almost upon them, so they had mustered in the dorm common room.

Standing off to one side and slightly behind her was her Queen, Akeno, smiling softly as she watched the younger members of their group.

Unlike most of the group, she'd chosen her red and white shrine maiden's outfit over her school uniform, a picture of traditional Japanese elegance.

Kiba, his usual, fresh smile in place as he adjusted his metal bracers.

Koneko standing casually beside him, gloved hands locked above her as she stretched herself out.

She would twist from time to time, to shoot an ever so slightly worried glance back upstairs.

Leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, Kazami Yuuji, idly running one hand through his Familiars fur.

A nervous Asia, with the arms of a smiling Raynare draped around her shoulders from behind, and a raincoat and galoshes clad Suu- back to Asia's size and her normal color- rocking from side to side with a watery hum.

Standing dutifully beside them was Kalawarner, and as the only one among them who wasn't a student, she had opted for the outfit she typically wore in the classroom.

A tight-fitting, maroon turtleneck sweater, white suit jacket, and short black skirt with nylons and glossy black heels.

No one questioned why she would wear heels, because they were all well-aware of the fact that she was more than capable of piercing _boulders_ with them, when strengthened by her Light.

Finishing her examination with a proud smile, Rias turned slightly towards her Queen with one eyebrow raised slightly.

Her oldest friend answered before she even needed to ask.

"Lucifer-sama will have his forces here within the hour. I'm not sure our dear Cadre will wait that long, however."

Rias shook her head.

"As expected, how are things on Sona's end?"

"The Student Council can keep the fighting contained within school grounds to a degree, though she requests that we try not to have too much fun."

Akeno's smile was cheery, doing her best to keep the younger members at ease.

"We'll have to do our best."

The two girls shared a brief chuckle, before Rias schooled her expression into a more serious one.

With that, Rias turned her attention back to her peerage, and their Fallen Angel comrades.

"We'll be making our way to the school, in order to confront Kokabiel. We need to hold him at bay long enough for Lucifer's forces to arrive, we can't run the risk of him getting any dangerous ideas, if sunrise comes and goes without us making an appearance."

She turned her head to regard the two Fallen next.

"Are you sure that you're okay with this? These are your former comrades."

Raynare and Kalawarner shared an uneasy silence as Asia watched them with concern glittering in her bright green eyes.

Rias waited patiently, content to give them the time they needed.

After a moment, they nodded to each other and met her gaze firmly.

"It's not going to be easy, fighting our old allies."

Raynare began.

"But if a choice must be made…"

Kalawarner continued.

Their serious expressions melted into warm smiles, and they made their choice known in perfect unison.

"Then we would much rather fight for our family instead."

This time, the silence was a much warmer thing.

This time, the silence was broken by soft sniffling.

Raynare, who still had her arms around the source of the sniffling, craned her head around in alarm.

"A-Asia?"

"I'm just so *sniff* happy… and I don't want anyone getting hurt."

Raynare tightened her grip comfortingly, and Kalawarner stepped over to wrap her arms around them both.

Rias watched them fondly for a moment before speaking up.

"Indeed, I'm the same. It's my wish… no, my order! Survive this ordeal, together at my side! No matter the opponent, I won't forgive any of you if you die!"

Swept up in her fervor, grins blossomed around the room, one after another.

[YES, BUCHOU!]

* * *

 **This chapter would have kept growing and growing if I didn't end it there, so the ORC will be facing off with Kokabiel next chapter.**

 **Had a lot of fun letting Ruth and Suu bear their fangs/feelers, and now you have an idea of where they stand. Rias had been set on getting Yuuji and Asia good familiars, after all.**

 **JB is just like Yuuji, and deals with stress in a healthy manner. I've never tried it, but the next time I feel overwhelmed maybe I'll try yelling at the dead.**

… **That sounds like a good way to find yourself haunted.**


	11. A Curse with No Name

**This chapter gets pretty brutal at times, but it also contains a Disney reference.**

 **Balance, maybe?**

 **Read on, and decided for yourself.**

* * *

"It is unfortunate that we can't lend you any direct assistance, but I'll need everyone to maintain the barrier. A stray shot in a fight like this could be devastating to the surroundings."

"That's quite alright Sona, even if you could lend me some of your peerage, I'm not equipped to give the proper orders to them to begin with. Besides, we only need to hold them for an hour, and as much as it frustrates me to admit, we have the advantage of our enemy underestimating us."

"It's vexing to admit that 'don't anger the enemy' is a valid strategy."

"Indeed, but I have every intention of one day reaching the level where we can fight beings such as Kokabiel on even ground, I have nothing but faith in my darling servants." Rias offered a proud smile, the very picture of confidence.

"Ambitious as always, I see."

"As if you're aiming any lower, Sona."

Rias gave a small chuckle and winked towards her oldest friend, and Sona's slight upwards tugging of the lips was just as good as laughter, if you knew her well enough.

The Gremory Peerage, with the inclusion of their two Fallen Angel companions, and the Exorcist duo Xenovia and Irina, were gathered at the front gate of Kuoh Academy.

Sona Sitri's peerage, the Student Council, had made preparations to seal in them, along with Kokabiel and his several dozen Fallen Angels.

Where was Kokabiel? Patiently lounging on a floating, black and steel throne that hovered over the school field.

Meanwhile, his forces idled on the roof of the gymnasium.

No Fallen had made any attempt to interfere, or even interact with the Student Council, instead waiting peacefully for the appointed time, and their appointed opponents.

To both of the young Devils, it was frustrating to say the least, but they weren't so vain as to not take what time they could get.

A Cadre, like Kokabiel, was nothing short of a small calamity should he feel the urge to indulge any violent urges.

Patience in his case, was not so much a virtue as it was a _blessing_ to those around him.

Rias turned to address her peerage one last time, joined by Ruth, slipping out of Yuuji's shadow, and Suu, flowing out of the water-proofed backpack that Akeno had enchanted for Asia.

The Exorcist duo had been easily brought on board by the prospect of being able to pursue their intended mission, with not quite as lopsided odds as they'd expected.

The Excalibur Fragments hadn't yet been seen, but radiating from somewhere within the campus was enough Holy energy to make a Devil's skin crawl.

So the presence of one or more Holy Swords was, unfortunately, a safe bet to make.

"Is everyone ready? Once we enter school grounds, there's no turning back."

Rias slowly swept her lovely gaze over her forces as she spoke, taking her time to look each of them in the eyes.

Seeing them nervous, but resolved, Rias closed her eyes, forcing herself, with sheer willpower, not to make any inappropriate noises because of how adorable her family looked.

A true Gremory indeed.

"Excellent. I've said all I needed to say, we have one hour to make Kokabiel regret threatening our home. Let's win this, and return to our peaceful lives… Together."

[Together!]

As the ORC echoed her call, they stepped onto the school grounds. Sona's preparations completed, and the school was engulfed by a water shimmer.

Their strides were firm and resolute, walking side-by-side to an uncertain fate.

Together, as always.

* * *

"Ahh, there you are Miss Gremory, I was hoping you'd arrive soon."

Kokabiel's voice was pleasant and welcoming as he looked down on the Devils and their allies from above.

He lounged indolently on a massive, floating throne of stone and steel, which bottomed out in a cruel spire that pointed towards the earth like a spear.

Despite being almost 50 feet off the ground, his deep voice carried easily, dominating the open space of the school field.

Despite that, Rias stood unfazed, and for a moment, Yuuji could imagine that they were in fact standing as equals.

The beautiful heiress offered a polite curtsy in response.

"I hope we didn't keep you waiting long, Cadre-san. I hope you have made your preparations? We're students, so I'd like to make sure we conclude this in a timely fashion."

Rias gave a fearless smirk, hands on her hips.

"After all, today is supposed to be a school day, and it wouldn't do to neglect our education any further."

It had spoken volumes of Sona Sitri that, despite the gravity of the situation, she had been the most irritated by the fact that she'd had to arrange for the entire school to be closed for 'emergency renovations'.

On a _Monday_.

Cadre?

Please, what value did a Cadre hold over a proper education?

Kokabiel chuckled warmly, offering an apologetic bow of his head.

"Forgive me, if I'd realized that today was supposed to be a school day, I would have moved my plans along with greater haste. Far be it for me to interfere with the education of our youths."

Rias chuckled.

Kokabiel chuckled.

The Devils and their allies fanned out on the ground, as the Stray Fallen took to the skies.

Kokabiel remained on his throne, watching with the air of an aloof, but kindly, father waiting for his children's ball-game to start.

Rias remained where she stood, matching his gaze.

"Ah, on the note of education, I hope you don't mind that I brought a few of the young ones with me. They aren't an official part of my forces, so this is being used as a trial by fire of sorts."

Kokabiel gave an apologetic shrug.

"If 'death' is considered a failing grade, I hope you're prepared for no small amount of disappointment, Kokabiel."

"Hahaha! Ah, well, that is the risk we run. As much as I'd prefer to, coddling them would do them no favors."

Kokabiel snapped his fingers, eyes alight as if in sudden recollection.

"Oh my, I nearly forgot."

Kokabiel's fatherly smile turned venomous, finally turning his attention to Raynare and Kalawarner.

"It was such a sad tale to hear that the two of you went rogue, turning on your own people like that after disobeying Azazel! Such a shame, you girls showed such promise! So _ruthless_ , so willing to get your hands _dirty_ , but far, far too eager. Poor Azazel was quite distraught to discover how many innocents you'd _butchered_ in his name!"

Raynare wilted, swaying in place with violet eyes downcast.

As she held out one arm to steady her friend, Kalawarner lifted her gaze skywards once more, and she let out a sharp exhale when she connected the dots.

"How many times... how many times did he give the order?"

Kokabiel grinned.

" _Not even once."_

"What… N-n-no... that can't be true… i-it-"

Raynare stumbled over her words, shaking her head frantically in denial.

"Oh, but it can! 'Observe and report'? How dreadfully boring! 'Eliminate before they can become a threat' just seems so much more _meaningful_ , does it not? You should be thanking me, so imagine my surprise when you threw it all away to _whore_ yourselves out to your captors! Truly a shame!"

There was a soft thud as Raynare's legs gave way, Kalawarner too distracted to maintain her grip.

The air seethed with power as Kalawarner summoned her Light with a sharp hiss, wings slashing the air as they unfurled and lifted her from the ground.

"You… you BASTARD! All the misery, all of Ray's- just because you wanted to make our jobs more _interesting_!? You _monster_ , I'LL KILL YOU!"

Several of the Devils were about to yell out in a vain effort to stop her, when a cool voice cut through the tension like a blade.

"Kala."

Kalawarner whipped her snarling visage towards the source of the voice, who had wrapped a hand around her wrist.

The woman faltered, horrified, as the scent of burning flesh filled the air.

She was giving off so much Light that Yuuji's hand was _sizzling._

"Y-Yuuji-sama!? Let me go, you're burning!"

She tried to tug away, to no avail.

"Not until you listen to what I have to say."

The Light died, as Kalawarner dropped back to the ground, nauseous from the scent of the boy's still sizzling hand, still encircling her wrist.

"Two things. One, you have something better now, don't you? Don't get reckless."

Kalawarner paled, but nodded weakly after a moment.

"Second, and more importantly, the top of Koka-whatevers chair is pointy."

"Pointy…?"

Kalawarner parroted, clearly having no idea how to respond.

"Yep, it's the perfect shape."

With his free hand, Yuuji swept one hand towards the ominously hanging throne, where the Cadre watched their exchange with eager anticipation.

"Imagine the sense of vindication you'll feel when we ram it up his ass."

The field went dead.

Kokabiel was the first to break the incredulous silence, throwing his head back to howl with mirth.

Struck dumb, Kalawarner gaped open-mouthed at Yuuji, until Akeno's muffled snicker snapped her out of her daze.

Her free hand went up to smother the sound, but a girlish giggle slipped out before his blushing Sensei could muffle it.

Soon, she was forced to abandon the tactic, and Yuuji released her wrist, to allow her to better clutch her sides, doubling over as she laughed and laughed.

A teary-eyed Raynare, still sitting on the ground, joined in a moment later, wiping away her tears.

With great effort, she managed to squeeze a few words out in between her laughter.

"'Koka-whatever'? You forgot his name, didn't you Yuuji-kun?"

"Meh, there's only two Fallen I care about, and they're _way_ prettier than that pasty crow."

Blushing, Raynare giggled.

Kalawarner, laughing still, pulled the smaller girl up onto her feet.

Then, she stepped over to Yuuji, and before he knew what was happening, planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

Before he could offer a response, she whipped her flushed face away with impressive speed, taking a large and rigid step away.

The cat-call that followed certainly hadn't come from Akeno.

Kokabiel, having recovered from his mirth, smirked down at Yuuji.

"Ah, leave it to the Soldier to rally the troops! How heart-warming! Oh, speaking of troops, that reminds me!"

Kokabiel snapped his fingers.

In response, a trio of massive, sparking circles blazed to life on the ground below him, spitting a sulfurous smoke into the air.

"I needed to walk my dogs, fortunately, there is plenty of _room_ to spare. I do hope you don't mind, you can play with them first."

The circling Fallen Angels settled back down onto the gymnasium roof, eagerly crowding about to watch.

As he spoke, torrents of fire and ash erupted out of the circles, and a trio of massive, four-legged figures appeared within the flames.

Slavering, massive sets of canine jaws broke through the flames first… In sets of three.

"Buchou, those are Cerberus aren't they?"

Yuuji's dull voice rang out.

"Yes Yuuji, you are correct."

Rias kept her tone light and conversational.

"Shouldn't there only be one?"

"Ah, a common misunderstanding. The Greek Cerberus is where they get their name from, but these are an advanced variant of the Hell-hound. They can't breathe fire, but they make up for it by being twice the size, and having three times the teeth."

Deeply ingrained instinct taking over, Rias slipped into a lecturing tone as Yuuji watched the beasts with curiosity.

The three-headed canines before them were somewhat similar in appearance to bulky Doberman Pinschers, with vicious, blazing red eyes and pitch-black fur.

Dog owners the world over were probably grateful that _their_ Dobermans were neither three-headed, nor drooling boiling liquid, nor slightly larger than the average house.

'Not a bad trade-off, I suppose, but… yeah, Ruth definitely wears those colors better."

{"I'm also house-trained, and can fit through the front door. Really, I think it's our win no matter how you look at it."}

"Yep, I sure was lucky Buchou's 'murder her Pawn' plan failed."

"Now!? Even now you're teasing me!? This is supposed to be serious! YUUJI!"

Forgetting, for a moment, that she was about to fight for her life, Rias stamped her foot indignantly.

Slightly strained, but still genuine laughter rang out once more from the rest of the ORC. Rias relaxed in spite of herself and let a small chuckle slip out.

The Exorcists just stared at the Devil's as if they had grown second heads.

"It's true, if tension was our only foe, we would only ever have to send out Yuuji."

Smiling whimsically, Kiba joined in, even as he advanced without falter against the snarling beasts, twirling a summoned blade in one hand.

"I wish I'd met you Gremory's sooner, you guys are way too much fun."

Kiba's smile evaporated as the white masked Stray Exorcist stepped out from behind one of the sheds, twirling Excalibur Nightmare.

Hands folded behind his back, a smiling Valper Galilei emerged a few paces behind.

"Buchou, mind if I step off? Some unfinished business reared its head."

Concern flashed across her blue eyes for a brief instant, but Rias nodded firmly.

"Go ahead, Yuuto."

Rias swept her gaze over the group, deciding who to send with him when Xenovia cut in, moving forward with Irina at her side.

"Valper Galilei _and_ an Excalibur Fragment? Mind if we join in, Kiba-san?"

"I wouldn't mind some company."

Kiba offered a slight nod, not taking his eyes off his foes.

"Ah, dear Isaiah and the finished products? A fine opportunity, do show me how far the Church has managed to fumble along without me."

Valper rubbed his hands together, looking for all the world like a paunchy, wizened child at Christmas.

"My wounds still sting from that gross sword of yours, Devil. Be a little more gentle when you play with me, would you?"

Despite the flippant words, the white-masked boys tone remained dull and monotone.

"No promises."

Kiba was met head-on by the masked boy, Xenovia moving in support while Irina's weaving, darting Excalibur Mimic was bared to keep Valper at bay, lashing and coiling in a fashion more akin to a viper than a sword.

Rias turned her attention back to the looming Cerberus, who despite the burning drool dripping from their jaws, hadn't advanced more than a single step.

Well-trained, she supposed?

Kokabiel was looking down on them far too much.

"Yuuji, Ruth, can I trust you to handle the one on the left?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Yuuji gave a firm nod, Ruth padding slowly ahead with hackles raised.

"Koneko, Kala, Ray, take the center."

"Roger."

Koneko stepped forward as the two Fallen took to the air on either side of her.

"Akeno, you'll be supporting me with the one on the right, but your main concern is keeping an eye on our audience. I don't trust them not to interfere, but I can lock one of the mutts down on my own while the others finish up, if need be."

"Yes, Buchou."

Akeno took flight, the air crackling around her

. Rias felt a chill go down her spine as Kokabiel's eyes lit up with curiosity, and he leaned forward in his seat to get a better view of her Queen.

"Asia, you're on standby for any injuries, Suu, keep her safe."

"U-understood!"

"Kay!"

The ORC moved into position, and Kokabiel snapped his fingers once more.

In eerie unison, nine sets of jaws howled their hunger to the heavens.

The ground smoking and cracking in their wake, the Cerberus charged.

* * *

Gaping jaws swept down from three different angles, dwarfing the sleek, lupine form that charged towards them.

The snapping maws of the Cerberus caught nothing but air, their prey slipping into the shadow they cast with a watery ripple.

Understandably, the left-most head reacted the most violently, Ruth having immediately burst back _out_ of said shadow to bury his jaws in its eye.

There was a wet squishing sound as the Grim's sharp teeth destroyed the burning orb, and then it howled and reared as his fangs found purchase in its eyelid.

Ruth dug his claws in as the head thrashed, but before the center head could reach over its stricken fellow to attack, Ruth kicked off, sailing through the air.

The Cerberus made to follow, and that's when a sleek, dull gray shape careened into it and exploded violently, engulfing its upper body in fire and smoke.

Ruth took the opportunity to gain extra distance, waiting for the smoke to clear.

Dispersing it by flinging its huge body about, the Cerberus whined and reeled, revealing that its center head was a mangled, limply dangling mass of smoking meat, having taken the brunt of the assault.

The other two heads were scarred and scorched on their inner sides, the left head having been now rendered entirely blind.

Yuuji dropped the now empty Stinger, the missile launcher dispersing into dull grey smoke an instant before it hit the ground.

"Not as effective as I would have hoped, but it's not like I'm short on munitions. [Promotion: Rook]."

Yuuji flared his power and drew on the Arsenal Memoir again, and this time the weapon that appeared was even larger than the launcher he'd summoned before,

Whereas the Stinger was shoulder mounted, this was slung low, almost dragging on the ground, despite the shoulder-strap that didn't really belong there.

Nor did the leg thick tripod attached to its base, or the stock that dug into the ground _behind_ Yuuji, but Yuuji certainly hadn't been experimenting with the Arsenal, or brainstorming on how to kill giant monsters.

"Hey, Buchou, this is fine, right? This is justified, right?"

Yuuji's voice was dull, but his eyes were aflame as the smirking Pawn took full advantage of the powerful Rook trait to hoist a gun with _six_ barrels, all longer than he was tall.

The General Dynamics M61A1 Vulcan. A six-barreled, hydraulically powered rotary gun, with a fire-rate of somewhere around six thousand rounds per-minute. In use by the American military since the 1950's.

Typically on _fighter jets_.

This certainly was not a gross misuse of the power of the Rook trait.

Kazami Yuuji was certainly not enjoying his most solemn duty.

Ruth dipped into the shadows to get well clear of the gunfire that shrieked across the field in not so much a hail, but a _storm_ of demonically-powered iron.

Rias took a split second break from her battle to sigh into her free hand, hiding her smile.

One Cerberus down.

* * *

The center-most head, plunging forward with jaws open wide, was most shocked to have said jaws _caught_ by the tiny morsel it had set its eyes on.

Of course, this was no set-back to a beast with three heads, and two more sets of jaws came sweeping in from either side, aiming to swallow Koneko whole.

Of course, that had been expected as well.

The Cerberus yelped and reared as each side head abruptly sprouted a light-spear from the side of its neck.

The middle head yanked Koneko right off the ground, as it shared in its fellows pain, and rather than try to hold on, the little Rook allowed herself to hurtle into the sky.

Twisting as gravity reversed her path, Koneko landed behind the middle head, grabbing onto a fistful of fur to keep herself in place.

The enraged Cerberus jumped and bucked, trying to shake her loose.

The outer heads snapped at her in vain, lacking the flexibility to reach the tiny Devil.

Then she reared one fist back and slammed it down on the vertebra of the neck, and the entirety of the middle head vibrated from the force of the blow.

The beast staggered from side to side as Koneko continued hammering down on it, leaving it completely flat-footed for what came next.

Plummeting from the sky like a comet, Kalawarner flipped end over end and dropped her golden axe on the left neck like a guillotine.

Burning Light met thick bone, and bone gave way like hot butter.

Hanging by mere strands of flesh, the heavy head tore away and hit the ground with a meaty thump.

At the same time, Raynare dropped onto the right head with a light-spear in either hand, plunging them into either eye and extending them. The spears crossed, and erupted from either side of the head, just below the jaw.

Raynare went airborne again as her ride flopped like a puppet with its strings cut.

Looking a little awed at what she'd just pulled off, the young Fallen blinked once, then grinned over at Kalawarner.

The older Fallen smiled proudly at her friend, while Koneko finished the job.

Reeling and bewildered by the deaths of the other two heads, and the constant hammering blows of its ride-along, the last head was helpless to respond as Koneko lifted both fists at once.

It threw its head back and howled its pain as Koneko slammed both fists down, swung her lower body up into a handstand, and launched herself upwards with arm strength alone.

Whirling through a complete end over end spin, Koneko came back down heel first.

Right on the base of the head.

A crack like a gunshot, followed by a heavy thud.

Koneko flipped once more, nailing a two-point landing in front of the corpse.

Meanwhile, the last Cerberus was getting dismantled piece by piece.

Keeping one wary eye trained on the 'audience' up above, Akeno had mostly restricted herself to keeping the Cerberus off-balance, aiming for the legs.

A stalagmite under a stepping paw here, a slick of ice there, and the Cerberus was forced to constantly second-guess its footing.

Something that it really, really didn't have time for.

Already, one head was a dangling, smoldering husk, cooked from within when Rias hurled a small orb of Destruction right down its open jaws.

It was limping now, Rias also having sent a thin wave right at the joint of its right leg.

A month or two earlier, and perhaps Rias would have tried to overwhelm it with as much force as possible.

But she'd learned her lessons, and was going to kill her foe with the minimum effort possible.

After all, such tactics would be much, much more difficult against the _real_ opponent.

Though, it seemed it was time to wrap things up, as her foe was the only one left.

Her darling servants had gotten so strong.

"Akeno, if you would. Flash, no substance, please."

"Yes, Buchou."

Lightning crackled as the Priestess of Thunder called on her namesake, while the Crimson-haired Ruin Princess gained a little distance to call on hers.

'Flash, no substance' was a simple code phrase for Akeno to focus on one particular aspect of her lightning, with no regard for the others.

Namely, light.

The Cerberus howled as a blinding flash seared its remaining eyes, rearing away from the source of its agony.

Rias, with one hand over her eyes, took a deep breath, and dropped that hand in time to send the contents of her _other_ hand screaming through the air.

Hissing red and black skewered the rearing Cerberus center mass, the lance of Destruction burning its way out of the hounds back, right where its spine should have been.

The last Cerberus toppled before the smirking King, pleased to know that not only had her precious family grown, but she had as well.

The moment was spoiled by a slow, echoing clap.

Kokabiel leered down at them from his lofty perch, a patronizing smile on his lips.

"Now that the opening act is out of the way, what say we have some fun?"

As his Fallen troops rose into the air with cruel smiles pasted on their faces, Kokabiel casually lifted one hand into the air.

Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eyes, and with a dismissive wave, the Fallen settled back down as the throne rotated to give him a better view.

A better view of Yuuto's battle.

"Perhaps an intermission is in order. It goes without saying, of course, that I'll kill anyone boorish enough to interfere."

Damn that Cadre and his love of theatrics.

Rias grit her teeth, waiting and hoping that her Knight would prevail.

If need be, she'd intervene, and damn the consequences.

Her life for any one of her family's was a trade she'd make a thousand times if asked.

* * *

Lean back to avoid a blade to the neck.

Shift stance to avoid knee being kicked in.

Slash to the body, turn with it and swing overhead.

Leap back to reset, gust from the wings to hamper pursuit.

Perhaps it was the mechanical method with which his opponent fought, or the maddening sense of deja vu those tactics brought, but Kiba was already sick and tired of this masked swordsman.

He'd been looking forward to the rematch, too.

One didn't just let someone get away with throwing all your trauma in your face like that.

What really got to him was how the fight just wasn't _going_ anywhere.

Xenovia had broken off to aid Irina against Galilei, Irina's Excalibur Mimic lacking the power to penetrate the barriers the Archbishop could cast.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one disappointed.

"Boring. So boring. Who do I have to stab to get you to bring out a real sword? What was it, Angelic Howl?"

His opponent sounded bored, too.

"Sorry, but there's a time and a place for weapons like that, and that's certainly not here."

"Oh, afraid to bring that out where your precious little friends can see? Afraid they'll look at you differently when they see your true face?"

"If I was worried about them seeing me differently, it would be because of _this_."

'This' was Kiba using his free hand to punch his opponent in the face.

To his eternal shame, Rias was in fact watching, an uneasy truce having fallen over the field as the last of the Cerberus fell.

... He wouldn't be able to look her in the eye for a week.

"What kind of Knight uses a left hook? I take back everything bad I said about you, you _are_ fun."

That bland white mask, clearly more durable than Kiba gave it credit for, was cracked around where the mouth would be, making it look like it had a jagged, lopsided smile.

Fitting really.

"We're having a fight to the death, not a sparring match. Don't expect a Devil to play fair."

"Ah, such ill manners, truly a shame. Mind if I cut in, boy? I'm most curious to see how dear Isaiah has grown without my influence."

Valper Galilei was standing some distance away, hands tucked calmly behind his back and that damned fake smile on his face.

The Exorcist duo were struggling and trying to bring their swords (Xenovia, anyways, Excalibur Mimic had been ripped from Irina's grasp) to bear against chains of light, emerging from the ground to bind them in place.

"Huh, those Exorcists didn't amount to much. Throwaways maybe?"

"The poor girls. Why don't you go keep them company, hmm?"

"Sure, why not."

The white masked swordsman wandered away, and Kiba would have pursued, if Galilei hadn't summoned those lanterns of his to open fire on him.

"Come now, Isaiah, show me how you've grown! After all, I made you what you are! Show me the results of your independence!"

Galilei's fatherly smile twisted into a sneer, dripping with an eager malice.

Like he was plucking the wings off a butterfly.

"Like hell you did! You treated us like toys and then threw us away! You poisoned us in our beds, what kind of monster gasses children when his little science experiment gets shut down!?"

Furious, Kiba ducked under a beam of light and sent a wave of blades streaking through the air, unable to close the distance to employ his preferred tactics.

"Ah, but didn't you benefit in the end?"

Kiba stumbled, got completely off guard by the outlandish remark.

Scenting blood in the water, Valper Galilei immediately stopped firing as the Gremory Knight ground to a wide-eyed, dazed halt.

"...Benefit?... Are you insane?"

"Is it truly so difficult to fathom? You have a master that provides for your every need, and all three Factions know just how much the Gremory's love to _dote_ on their little pets. Isn't your life better, now that you're a Devil?"

The Archbishop grinned widely and spread his arms as Kiba shook his head in denial.

"... Better? You murder everyone I ever cared for… and you call that better? Where's their better!? How did _they_ benefit in the end!?"

It was precisely the wrong question to ask.

With the air of a king granting his favor upon a worthy subject, the Genocide Archbishop casually lobbed something towards the Devil.

Kiba blinked dumbly at the small, shimmering blue crystal that rolled to his feet.

"How did they benefit? By becoming part of something so much greater than they could ever be! And there, dear Isaiah, is the result. All that remains of your precious friends, the _successful completion of the Holy Sword Project!_ "

Trembling, the Gremory knight could only stare down in disbelief.

"Ask them, Isaiah. Ask those Exorcists. The process has been refined, but those are the crystals they take in, in order to use the Holy Swords. That, dear Isaiah, is a crystal made of the extracted Light of your comrades. If memory serves, that prototype only claimed the lives of 12 of your precious little friends."

There was a soft thud as Kiba fell to his knees, gingerly scooping up the crystal.

"T-that can't be! There's no way the Church would allow that!"

Irina had ceased her struggling long enough to yell her denial.

The masked boy hadn't made any move against them yet, seeming content to watch them strain against their bonds.

"Oh, that soft-hearted Michael found a way to extract the Light element _without_ killing the subject, but it was _my_ research that allowed it! The gall of them, to cast me out and then claim my work for themselves!"

Unheeding of the conversation, Kiba Yuuto stared deeply into the small crystal, watching the light ebb and swirl beneath its surface.

Disturbed only by the raindrops that fell from the cloudless sky above.

* * *

"Man, I wish I was as good at breaking people as the old man was-"

The Stray Exorcist had been loitering nearby, callously watching Xenovia and Irina struggle with their glowing bonds, when he suddenly straightened and snapped his fingers.

"Oh wait, I can just cheat."

The masked boy drew out Excalibur Nightmare and pointed it at Xenovia.

Then Irina.

Back to Xenovia, and in spite of herself, the blue-haired girl relaxed. Better her than-

 _He'd noticed._

 _Oh God, please no, anything but-_

"Eeny Meeny Miny-"

 _ **"NO!"**_

Xenovia screamed as the air rippled, Excalibur Nightmare claiming the last person she wanted targeted.

Irina's eyes dimmed and her body stiffened woodenly, like some lifeless doll.

Caught in Excalibur Nightmare's cruel grasp.

Xenovia screamed and struggled in a blind panic, trying to get to her friend. She ground to stricken halt when a trembling query slipped out of her friend's lips.

"... Issei?"

Caught in the cruel, cruel clutches of _memory_.

* * *

" _EEK! Mama Hyoudou help! Issei-kun is trying to eat me!"_

 _Her pink socks sliding along the hardwood floor, little Irina Shidou swung herself around behind Mrs. Hyoudou, hiding behind the powerful protection of her apron._

" _Rawr! Issei isn't here, just a big hungry dragon looking for little girrrls to eat! Rawr!"_

 _Issei came running around the corner, swaying from side to side as he waved his hands over his head in a threatening manner that was only partially marred by his missing front teeth._

 _Irina had cried for hours when his first tooth fell out, terrified that her best friend was very, very sick._

" _Oh my, I hope my little Dragon isn't bullying his dear little friend. And I certainly hope that wasn't running in the kitchen I just saw."_

" _No Mama!"_

 _Issei grinned widely up at his mother._

" _We're just playing, Rin-chan is my best friend so I'd never make her cry!"_

" _That's good dear, now why don't you go play in the yard-"_

 _Mrs. Hyoudou turned her head towards the front of the house, where a faint knocking could be heard._

" _Dear, could you get that?"_

" _Already on it, Honey."_

 _The warm voice of Papa Hyoudou drifted out from the living room._

 _She hoped it wasn't Mom and Dad! They were away on Church work again, and they never knew how long that would take._

 _But she didn't get lonely, because when Mom and Dad were gone she got to have sleepovers with Issei-kun!_

 _Sleepovers were great practice for when they were old enough to get married!_

" _Why don't you two go play in the yard until supper is ready, hmm?"_

 _Mama Hyoudou shooed them along, smiling gently._

 _Pausing just long enough to slip on the shoes they'd left by the backdoor, the two children trudged out into the backyard together._

 _Mama Hyoudou began to untie her apron, curious about their unexpected visitor._

 _As they stepped out into the small backyard, Irina rushed ahead, only to twirl back around to Issei._

 _Hands tucked behind her back, she ducked her head shyly and scuffed the ground with one shoe._

" _Hey, Issei-kun, if I'm gonna play the princess, can you be my knight?"_

" _Sure, Rin-chan!"_

 _Grinning hugely, Issei gave her a thumbs up._

 _Just then the back-door opened, and the smiling children turned their head to see-_

 _Mama Hyoudou, leaning heavily against the door._

 _Her face was pale and she was shaking, was she sick?_

 _She didn't look so good, she was awfully pale and clutching her stomach and-_

 _ **They could see right through it.**_

" _Y-y-you remember what we always… told you?"_

 _Mama Hyoudou coughed, and the sound was so very, very wet._

" _Issei, take Rin and... run along to the... Church. You'll be safe there, you'll-"_

" _Yes, listen to your mother, children."_

 _The voice was rich, and dark, and utterly foreign._

 _Mama Hyoudou tripped abruptly, pushed down by something from behind._

 _Standing in the doorway was a tall, pretty woman, with long, dark hair, and red lipstick and she'd really put too much on because it was running down her face and-_

 _ **Her body was long, and sleek, and dark, on all fours like an animal.**_

 _Not understanding what they were seeing, the children gaped at her in disbelief._

 _She slowly made her way out of the house, smiling softly, and rising up and up and up-_

" _Hmm, I thought I could smell Dragon and what is this? Hardly even a lizard, such a waste."_

 _They were running, then, why were they running why was Issei pulling her and why was he looking back with-_

 _ **Unblinking, golden eyes.**_

" _Come on Rin we gotta run! Mama said the Church is safe we're almost there!"_

 _Ah, Issei was so calm, Issei was so brave, what was happening where was Mama and Papa Hyoudou where was-_

 _ **Why did it hurt so much?**_

 _She fell hard, jerking Issei to a halt as something bumped into her side and it hurt it hurt it hurt-_

 _ **Something pale and curved was sticking out of her side.**_

 _It made a wet squishing noise as it vanished, and Irina went numb._

 _It was cold._

 _ **It was so cold and it hurt why did it hurt?**_

 _Slowly she looked back to see that pretty lady with a body that was all wrong licking something red and wet off of those scary claws._

 _Ah, she wasn't a pretty lady._

 _ **She was a monster.**_

 _Issei stepped in front of her, trembling like a leaf._

 _Her brave Issei, her brave knight coming to rescue the princess from the scary-_

 _ **A teary-eyed, runny-nosed Issei grinned his toothless grin at her and then those reassuring, golden eyes disappeared behind those red-painted lips.**_

 _ **Everything went red, and then everything went dark.**_

* * *

" _ISSEEEEIIIII!"_

The world trembled in time with Irina's agonized, despairing scream.

Slumping like a broken toy, cruelly suspended by the shimmering chains, Irina clutched both hands to her head and screamed and screamed and screamed.

"Irina no! Stay with me, it's not real, stay with me!"

Desperate to reach her wailing friend, Xenovia stretched out a hand only to find that she couldn't take even one step.

With a choked sob, she slumped, helpless, silvery tears streaming down her face.

Looming over them was the white mask with its broken grin.

Having had enough, Kalawarner and Raynare both went to step forward, but were stopped cold as Rias held out her hand.

"Wait."

It was the breathless, hushed quality of her voice that stopped them, and it took only a moment to see what she could see.

Valper Galilei watched the sobbing Exorcists eagerly, rubbing his hand together gleefully.

Without sound or ceremony, Kiba Yuuto rose to his feet.

Seeping between the fingers of his clenched fist was a soft, blue glow.

* * *

It was always like this.

Why?

Why did good people have to suffer while scum like that watched, and laughed at their pain?

Why did Valper Galilei get to live when so many of his friends died?

Why was he allowed to live, when he had neither been the bravest, or the smartest, or the kindest of their number?

Why?

" _It was never about that, Isaiah."_

He let out a sharp exhale as a warm, tiny little hand gripped onto his free one.

" _We were so happy when you escaped."_

This voice was different, but he didn't need to look to know who it belonged to.

" _It hurt so much, but you being alive made it all seem okay."_

The tallest of their number barely reached his chest.

That seemed wrong for some reason.

... He'd never really outgrown them, after all.

" _Hey, Zaiah?"_

Hehe... she never did manage to get his name right.

The big words were still difficult for her.

" _Maybe it's time you stopped blaming yourself?"_

Ah, her... always the first to come running when their smiles faltered.

" _Yeah, we were happy that you survived, so maybe it's time you tried actually living a little?"_

He had always been the bravest and the strongest.

Isaiah had idolized him.

"Why…? Why was I the only one to live? Why did you all have to die for something so pointless?"

" _Dunno. The adults never made much sense."_

A bitter laugh slipped free.

"Sometimes I think the world doesn't make sense. Bad people smile, good people cry, the strong prosper and the weak suffer. Despite our prayers, no Angel ever flew down to save us, but a _Devil_ saved me, and me alone. What kind of messed up world do we live in?"

" _We don't know, Isaiah. Maybe things don't have to make sense?"_

"Yeah… maybe… I miss you all so, so much."

" _We know. We've always known."_

"You know, I'm tired of trying to make sense of things."

" _And that's okay, Isaiah."_

"So, I think I'm going to do something just a little crazy."

" _Go ahead, Isaiah. We're with you."_

"Together?"

" _Always."_

"Thanks, everyone."

" _Now, how about your old family…"_

" _ **Helps you fight for your new one?"**_

* * *

Hand covering her mouth, Rias watched with bated breath and glistening eyes as Yuuto, her precious Yuuto, was surrounded by the forms of glowing, child-like figures.

She had never imagined a blue so warm.

She was too taken aback to muster a response when one of the taller girls turned to look directly into her eyes.

Despite the distance Rias could clearly see her wink.

Then, Rias gaped as Kiba lifted the glowing crystal high above his head…

 _And slammed it into his chest._

The air rippled in a breeze that was both frightfully cold and stiflingly hot.

Then, her Knight stood up straight and began to speak, surrounded by his glowing, youthful honor-guard who winked out, one by one, in glowing strands that swirled into the sky.

The world stopped its spinning, to better hear his voice.

 **Let the embrace of the Angel condemn you**

A cacophony of fiendish, otherworldly howls joined by serene, celestial chorus.

 **Let the jaws of the Demon grant you peace**

Blood and stardust, spitting venom and liquid gold danced and intertwined on the palm of his hand.

 **[Balance Breaker]**

They slammed together in an explosion of blinding light and smothering shadows, stretching its way to Heaven, and piercing down to Hell.

 **Rakshasa Divine!**

… It took the shape of the European longsword that Yuuto favored above all else.

It's elegant blade was a regal, softly glowing gold.

Running up along its length were spidery veins of inky black, and bloody crimson that throbbed and pulsed as if alive.

A simple cruciform hilt, bound and constricted by weeping vines of jagged iron.

The pommel?

A crude, jagged crystal of warm, languidly swirling blue.

It offered the serene, welcoming light of salvation, even as unspeakable, unending malice lashed out in defiance of the world itself.

Beautiful and hideous.

Sacred and profane.

Holy and Demonic.

Her Knight stood proudly against that which had haunted him all his life, and that's when it happened.

He spread his wings in challenge, the leathery, spiked wings of a Devil.

... As pale and white as fresh-fallen snow.

Her desperate, breathless wish, that even she couldn't hear the words to, somehow reached his ears.

Her Knight, her darling, precious little brother, turned his head her way, with a radiant smile and a question in his soft blue eyes.

Rias rose to her full height and returned a smile with all the love and pride she had to offer, and offered a simple nod.

Beside her, Akeno stepped a little closer, watery eyes alight with a silent, unspoken joy.

He lifted his sword for the last time against the ghosts of his past.

This time, _with a blade that could reach them._

* * *

Deep in the darkness of a young man's heart sat a sword, piercing the unseen earth below it.

Twisted and jagged, bleeding and rusting and weeping and-

Angelic Howl crumbled, and was swept away on a whispering breeze.

Sighing softly, gently, as it vanished forever.

Wings flaring, Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Rias Gremory, charged into the fray once more.

* * *

She watched as the top half of that wretched sword went flying, the Gremory Knight accomplishing the first step towards his goal with frightening ease.

One half of Excalibur Nightmare dissolved into shimmering light and drifted away, while the half remaining in its wielders hands?

Hastily discarded, as it _liquefied_ before the the unholy aspect of Rakshasa Divine.

Rather than press the attack, the Gremory Knight smiled patiently, and leaned against his sword as his white-masked foe fell back to that excitedly watching old heretic.

One Fragment down, and yet here she was, in chains, just like her brokenly sobbing friend.

Dammit!

She knew better, she knew she had to keep that sword away from Irina and she blew it!

No more.

She had tried to rely on Excalibur Destruction, because it was _easier_ to control.

She was sure Irina was appreciating the easier method right about now.

The chains of light that bound her bit deeply as she grit her teeth and forced her arm up, and soon blood was running down the chains.

"Hear me Saint Peter! Saint Basil! Saint Denis! Holy-mother Mary, heed my voice!"

A golden portal opened in the air before her hand, all eyes falling to her as a divine wind scoured the field.

Unheeding, uncaring, she continued her chant.

"In the name of the saints who reside within this blade, I will release it! Come forth, DURANDAL!"

A sword hilt, bound by golden chains slid from the portal and into her waiting hands, and when those chains shattered, the chains binding her and Irina shredded like paper.

Irina fell to her knees, but she remained standing, but Xenovia remained standing, eyes narrowed and teeth bared.

The sword, almost as long as she was tall, had a single-edged blade of blue, lined in gold. A semi-circular guard on a grip meant for two hands.

Xenovia Quarta rose to her full height, finally wielding the sword she was always meant to wield.

"This is Durandal. This unruly child doesn't like to listen most of the time, and will ravage everything if I don't keep it locked away."

If the Excalibur Fragments leaked Holy aura, Durandal was a flood.

"That's impossible! All attempts to create a wielder for Durandal met with failure. How!? How do you wield that sword!?"

Valper Galilei gaped at her, and Xenovia allowed herself to savor his shock with a thin smile.

"No one created me. I was born a wielder of Durandal."

She shifted her gaze to the Gremory Knight who watched her, and her sword, with faint curiosity.

"Mind if I cut in, Kiba-san? It's a rare chance to bring my Durandal up against Excalibur."

The Devil just smiled at her.

"You've lived up to your end of the bargain, so I don't mind sharing. Now, Valper, where are you hiding the other Fragments. Don't tell me all of your precious little plans have fallen apart already?"

The old man glared spitefully, and reached his hand into a glowing portal, similar to the one Xenovia had pulled Durandal from, and pulled forth a new weapon.

The sword bled Holy energy into the air, looking something like a rapier fused with a curved blade of some kind.

Xenovia gaped at it in shock.

'You… fused them? What have you done?"

Valper Galilei gave a mocking, triumphant laugh as he presented the sword to the white-masked boy.

"Indeed, I have combined Excalibur Rapidly and Excalibur Transparency, lending the power of both to a single blade! Just imagine how much more impressive it will be when I get my hands on the more of the Fragments! A shame you destroyed Nightmare, but a minor setback at-"

" _Pathetic._ "

Kiba Yuuto's sigh was heavy with disappointment, almost as if he was _embarrassed_ on Valper's behalf.

"That's your hidden trump card? That _toy_? I almost feel ashamed to have hated someone like you for so long. Sorry, Quarta-san, but would you give me another moment? I have a point to make."

Xenovia gave a small nod and grinned, the Archbishop of Genocide gaping and spluttering, turning purple with rage.

Shrugging, the masked swordsman gave the fused Excalibur an experimental swing and charged the Gremory Knight, the power of Excalibur Rapidly granting him speed far beyond what he had been capable of before.

A pale blur, trailing warm gold and bloody red, slammed into him and rebounded, before he had even crossed half the distance.

He bounced and skidded across the ground, trailing metal shards that flew off in every direction.

The light dropped back down from the sky like a bolt from the heavens, and Valper Galilei found his barrier struggling to keep that impossible sword at bay.

The light that protected him seeming to recoil and tremble before the blade that burned into it.

"Is that it?"

Holding that sword was a Devil, his firm glare giving way to a weary disappointment.

"Is that- no, it can't be… such a thing shouldn't be possible, unless…"

Earlier rage forgotten, Valper Galilei stared up at Rakshasa Divine in spellbound fascination, as behind him, the masked boy slowly got to his feet and brushed himself off.

"It has to be! It must! To think Michael was keeping such a secret! To think, that all this time, not only the Satans but God-"

 _ **SHINK!**_

Whatever Valper Galilei was going to say was cut off as a thin line of gold streaked across his neck. The light-spear that had struck him embedded itself into the dirt as his head, frozen in an expression of sudden epiphany, rolled off back off his with a muted thump.

His once mighty barrier, with nothing to maintain it, shattered like glass.

"Now now, Valper Galilei. One shouldn't simply blurt out such revelations, a certain level of… _t_ _heatrics_ are necessary."

Kokabiel, one hand still outstretched in the dead man's direction, rose from his seat with a proud smile and swept his hands out, as if standing upon a podium rather than a floating throne.

Movement caught Kiba's gaze as, the masked boy slipped away, and as he did, his mask finally crumbled and gave way.

Kiba blinked in shock, but was forced to shake his head as Kokabiel began to speak once more.

The Fallen were watching their leader in breathless anticipation, some shooting knowing, mocking grins towards the Devils below.

"The lie that Michael and the Seraphs have so desperately tried to conceal! The truth of the Great War! Yes! Not only did that mighty struggle, that greatest and _most_ glorious of wars drag the Satan's themselves from their thrones and into the grave, it…!"

The Cadre paused, head raised to the skies as if overwhelmed by his own sweeping oration.

Then he lowered his head to offer those below a vicious smile.

 _ **"It even claimed the life of God himself."**_

A chill swept through the field.

The sudden silence was so thick you could almost taste it.

A soft thud broke through the hushed air first, Xenovia digging her sword into the earth to support her shaking knees.

"Lies… a lie, it has to be-"

She cut herself off and snapped her head to the side, where Irina was huddled over on herself.

The fact that a continuous, stuttering flow of the word 'Issei' was the only sound she made, suggested she hadn't heard.

Xenovia couldn't quite bring herself to feel relief.

Kokabiel shook his head slowly with a helpless shrug, before pointing down towards Kiba.

"Ah, but couldn't it be the truth? After all, in what sane, _intact_ world would allow two exact, irreconcilable forces to exist in harmony? That sword, that impossible contradiction would never be allowed by God! The system he put in place would never allow its birth!"

"T-then… if God didn't cast us out, then who?"

Raynare's question slipped out before she could stop it, and Kokabiel's excited visage snapped down to her.

"Michael, of course. He maintains the tenuous hold on God's Throne, and he must be oh so strict if he is to keep it from crumbling any faster."

Then his eyes fell on Asia.

"After all, what merciful God would discard a Holy Maiden for offering kindness to her enemies?"

Asia swayed in place, and would have fallen if Suu hadn't caught her.

The Slime's naive, blank half-smile gave way to a glare, dripping in malice.

Kokabiel stepped to the edge of his floating throne.

Silently, the Fallen behind him rose eagerly into the air.

The Devils and their allies below tensed in readiness.

"Now, with that little detail out of the way, you all still seem a tad too hopeful for those about to die. Do you honestly believe that this battle would ever end any other way?"

Kokabiel let all ten of his wings unfurl, stepped forward off his throne-

"High time I shattered those illusions of yours."

Yuuji's body went flying through one of the storage sheds.

Then another.

His companions could only gawk in stricken disbelief when the crashing and the splintering of wood halted, and not another sound was heard.

Kokabiel rose into the air once more with a smug smile, and his forces descended.

* * *

The Power of Destruction bisected a pair of Fallen, the pieces trailing ash as they fell limply from the sky.

"Asia! Get to Yuuji! Suu, cover her!"

"Y-yes!"

Asia dashed away, Suu flowing along at her side.

Almost a dozen Fallen broke away to pursue, but lightning vaporized the middle of their formation as a seething Akeno opened fire.

Half went one direction and white wings heralded Kiba's re-entry to the fray as he soared forth, Rakshasa Divine hissing and singing as it fell upon them.

The first Fallen was skewered through the ribs, falling screaming as the edges of his wounds began to burn away.

Another plummeted without a sound as the Holy-Demonic sword claimed her head.

The other half of the group struggled to defend themselves as dozens of small pink light spears swept through them like a cloud.

The survivors of Raynare's assault would never get the chance to recover.

Kalawarner fell upon them with a furious cry, blood and limbs flying in every direction as her golden axe hacked them to pieces.

Asia, trusting in her friends and in Suu, didn't even spare a glance for her pursuers, vibrant green eyes locked on her target.

She had almost reached the wreckage, where Yuuji had disappeared, when the ambush struck.

Another group of over a dozen Fallen had been lying in wait atop the school building itself, and several had been lurking in the trees surrounding the athletic field.

Asia barely had time to scream before they let fly with their spears.

A transparent, serpentine shape wound through its way through the air around her, catching each and every spear before snapping to place back in front of her.

Suu, with her rain-jacket lying at her feet, looking at Asia with clear concern.

Even though she was the one skewered from every angle like some gooey pin-cushion.

"Asia, okay?"

"S-Suu! Y-you're-"

She bit back what she was going to say.

The light-spears were slowly starting to dissolve.

... Had Suu gotten taller?

Suu had gotten taller.

Hips widened and breasts swelled, even as soft blue faded to black, and warm green hair became an equally warm pink.

Suu smiled down at her master, now almost identical to Kalawarner in height and proportion.

"Shh… it's okay, Asia-chan. It will take more than a few naughty Fallen to stop me, so why don't you focus on Yuuji?"

Suu patted her on the cheek gently, before her body reversed itself to face the Fallen watching her warily.

"Trying to hurt my sweet little Asia? I think you little crows need punishment."

Suu winked up at them, and raised one hand, her index finger pointed and thumb raised.

"Bang~."

A faint splash, and three bodies fell from the sky with small, sizzling holes in their skulls.

Several more were smashed from the sky, Koneko having caught up with the duo and hurled half a shed at their attackers.

There was a howl and a scream as Ruth pounced out of nowhere, having ridden along with the shadow of the shed chunk, opposite the rising sun.

He tore the throat out of his victim and leaped off, long tail catching another two by the throat and pulling them into his descent.

His landing was graceful, _their_ landing left them completely defenseless as the enraged Grim rounded on them.

"T-thank you!"

Asia recovered from her shock and took off once more, nearly to where Yuuji must have been lying.

She had just spied an arm amidst the wreckage, and was nearly an arms length away, when Rias screamed a warning.

"Tsk Tsk. You'll only prolong things needlessly if you go around _healing_ people."

Then Kokabiel was beside her and swinging one arm, and something dark was surging up around her.

"ASIA!"

Cratered into the crumbling wall of the main building was the limp little Bishop.

Something dark and gooey was splattered across the crater, struggling weakly to pull itself together.

"A… Sia… Sia-a…"

Ruth leapt for Kokabiel and was batted out of the air with a yelp, tumbling and bouncing until he struck the wall just beneath the unconscious Bishop, and something gave way with a muffled crack.

Struggling, he dragged himself to his three remaining feet and stood trembling guard in front of the two girls, fangs bared with a snarl that sounded more like a cough.

One of his front legs was jutting white bone like a spear, and that wasn't the only place that bone had broken skin.

The Cadre stared at the Grim calmly for a moment, and then the Grim's legs gave way as he hit the dirt.

This time, Ruth did not rise.

The other half of the shed that Koneko had hurled slammed into the silent Cadre like a battering ram, and Kokabiel staggered a single step as it broke against him.

A huge pale hand reached through it to grasp the startled little Rook, but before he could reach, Rias struck.

A cascade of seething Destruction washed over Kokabiel but he flicked his right set of wings and it slicked off of him like oil.

Koneko had been snatched away by a panicked Raynare in that thin gap, and the mob of Fallen that pounced on her found their route cut off by a wave of steel from one direction, and a spinning axe of golden light from the other.

Kokabiel turned calmly to look at the Gremory heiress, even as the seething girl gathered enough Power of Destruction to form what looked like a miniature star.

Kiba and Akeno protected her, the Knight flashing through the air at dreadful speed to vivisect any Fallen that approached.

A cold-eyed Akeno brought lightning infused death with one hand, and shielded her King with the other.

Without so much as a word, Kokabiel chuckled and raised his arms, inviting Rias to fire with a mocking grin.

Rias screamed her rage, and Destruction screamed with her.

That star became a crackling comet as it burned the air itself on the way to the Cadre.

The comet slammed into a shield of wings,slowly forcing the Cadre to give ground.

Then those smoking wings spread apart, and the comet dispersed amidst dark feathers swirling in the air.

"A very good try, Rias Gremory. I shall confess, my wings are just _aching_. I dare say they'll need a thorough grooming once I'm done."

The Cadre snapped his fingers.

"Speaking of done…"

A roar of wind accompanied the Cadre's charge as he descended upon Rias, one hand outstretched.

Rias hit the dirt with a low cry as something struck her, knocking her from the Cadre's path.

Bewildered and disoriented, Rias cast her vision around wildly as Kiba yelled, pressured by over half a dozen Fallen attacking from every angle.

She raised her vision skywards, and saw him once more.

Or rather, saw _them_.

Casually standing atop the floating dais that held his throne aloft, Kokabiel cast his dread shadow once more over the field of battle.

With one hand around the neck of a desperately thrashing Akeno.

With an agonizing slowness, the Cadre turned his head towards the dangling Queen.

He was rewarded with a face full of lightning.

When the smoke cleared, Kokabiel had a thin, narrow burn on one cheek from when he'd tilted his head to the side.

His grip hadn't even loosened.

"I had my suspicions, but weak as it was, that confirms it."

Kokabiel sneered contemptuously, looking truly angry for the first time.

"You're Baraqiel's daughter, aren't you? The filthy little half-breed he left behind!"

Akeno's eyes went wide, and then she bared her teeth and hissed her answer.

"I'm nothing like that-"

A thin stream of Destruction, aimed at Kokabiel, cut off what she was going to say, but the Cadre casually stopped it with his free hand.

"No, you're not. But, you know…"

Kokabiel offered a knowing, almost mischievous smirk towards Rias, even as he shook Akeno violently to make her lightning fizzle.

"The poor man broke a little, the day he lost his family."

He winked down at the horrified King-

"So I'm sure you'll understand him better… _**i** **f I break you as well**."_

Lifted Akeno above his head, and grabbed onto her leg-

 _A scream tore the air as Akeno's spine bent and snapped over his knee._

 _ **"AKENO!"**_

Rias cried out as the resounding crack silenced the sounds of battle, pounding its way through her skull.

Casually, carelessly, the Cadre let the twitching, gasping Queen fall to earth, watching without interfering as the Gremory heiress desperately hurled herself to meet the tumbling body.

Caught in Rias' embrace, Akeno screamed anew as something within her _shifted_ and _popped_ within her King's arms.

Sobbing and crying, Rias drifted slowly back to the ground, with her broken Queen convulsing and whimpering in her embrace.

* * *

Rubble slipped loose with a clatter.

Something rose from the wreckage, streaming blood and dull gray smoke.

* * *

Bodies fell from the sky like rain as the remaining members of the ORC hurled themselves against their foes with murderous abandon, and Kokabiel calmly sent his throne in retreat, before descending from the sky, on the opposite end of the sports field from her.

"AKENO, AKENO STAY WITH ME! Please, no no no! ASIA! WHERE ARE YOU-!"

Her words died in her throat as cold reality hit her like a hammer.

Her peerage, her family were falling to pieces around her…

And there was _nothing_ she could do.

" _None of you understand what a real fight is."_

Now, she understood, and it was far too late.

Kokabiel had been toying with them from the start.

Only now, like some unruly child, he'd decided start breaking his toys.

As the battle raged around her, Rias huddled over her crippled Queen and cried and cried-

The distinctive rattle of a chain-link fence, so out of place amidst the sounds of combat, snapped her out of her grief for the briefest of moments.

"... Yuuji?"

A dark-haired figure slowly made his way forward, half limping, half dragging himself against the chain-link fence that framed the school grounds.

His one visible eye painted shut by the blood running down his face, various bits of the wreckage were sticking out of him at odd angles.

As if hearing her whisper, his head snapped towards her, and Rias nearly fainted from what she saw.

Yuuji's other eye was no less visible.

Not from blood, but from the dull grey smoke that poured from it.

As if they had all noticed in the same instant, the fighting ground to an abrupt halt, everyone, without fail, finding their eyes drawn to the bizarre sight.

Facing forward once more, Yuuji reached a hand to grasp the fence and pull himself farther, but what snapped down with a dull groan was a battered iron gauntlet, ending in cruel hooked claws.

A leg dragged forward, and it was covered too.

He stumbled and fell, and then the iron engulfed him up to the neck.

He hauled himself to his feet, engulfed in battered, ancient iron, like the armor of some long-forgotten knight, weathered but unbroken.

Smoke poured from the joints of the armor as Yuuji swayed in place, releasing his grasp on the fence.

The voices seemed to come from every direction at once. Male, female, dozens upon dozens.

 **[Balance Breaker]**

He tilted his unseeing eyes towards Rias, and a featureless iron face-plate snapped into place, leaving barely enough room for his eyes.

 **Unknown Soldier.**

When the mask fell into place, all memory of the man behind it fell away.

* * *

The mask it wore covered its face from chin to hairline, allowing dark hair to frame it, but not a single identifying feature beyond that.

Iron wreathed everything below the Soldier head completely in plate after plate of battered, interlocking metal.

Rias tried, and failed, to suppress a shudder as the horrid thing made its advance.

Calling it armor wasn't quite right.

Something about it seemed too constricting, too confining.

Like a cage, perfectly fitted to its captives body.

 ** _A prison of iron, struggling to contain the countless curses that seethed within._**

Failing, as a bitter hatred wreathed it in a ruinous curtain.

It walked upon the trembling earth, and resentment poisoned the air in its wake.

Violent, jerking strides that made the metal screech and groan, even as that hateful smoke sputtered from the thin joint-gaps like the dying breaths of some ancient, overworked engine.

A last, sputtering puff, and the smoke that poured from the twin chasms in its mask wafted away on a tainted breeze.

She called them 'chasms' because the narrow eye-holes of the mask revealed nothing, empty fissures of a deep, oppressive darkness.

The longer she stared, the more the gloom seemed to deepen, until a trembling Rias tore her gaze away from an endless darkness that stared right back at her.

Those watching held their breath, as the grim specter slowly made its way onto the now still field of battle, unconcerned or uncaring that every eye was fixed its way.

The shriek and grind of metal ground to a halt, allowing a silence that seethed with barely restrained malice, nothing but their pounding heartbeats to challenge the stillness that followed.

They held their breath as the soft groan of iron echoed through their bones, a single armored digit rising into the sky.

The Fallen quailed before the wordless beckons of the thing below.

Rias and her peerage looked on nervously, waiting for the violence that they could _feel_ in the air to pour forth.

A brief movement snapped all eyes towards a pair of Fallen, hovering side by side.

With dawning horror in their eyes, they offered a dazed nod to one another.

The Soldier lowered its outstretched hand, and crossed its arms impatiently.

The violence began.

* * *

Roaring in challenge, the Fallen pair plunged from the sky to attack, as if by some unspoken signal.

Their pale-faced fellows made no move to cease their assault, nor join it.

As if such ideas never crossed their mind.

The first vanished amidst a hail of gunfire, so thick you could almost see it.

Feathers of the darkest black fluttered slowly to earth in the crimson rain.

From the side, the second Fallen let out a garbled cry as the empty weapon was hurled into his face, and his remaining momentum carried him right into the Soldier's embrace.

He screamed himself hoarse as spiked thumbs slipped into either eye, and he had just grasped onto the Soldiers armored wrists when it pulled.

He fell twitching, skull wrenched violently apart.

It was as if an order had been quietly determined, a sentence passed in silence.

They would descend from the sky, in pairs, in groups, sometimes alone.

The Fallen Angels would descend from the skies to attack, and the Soldier would kill them.

As if to acknowledge all that made them unique, the Soldier offered them each a death that was theirs and theirs alone.

As if to deny what courage, what fleeting dignity resided in each of those lives, the Soldier escorted them screaming into the silence beyond.

A Fallen was blown to pieces by buckshot, the gun carelessly discarded in an instant for a new tactic as his comrade swooped in.

That one was plucked screaming from the skies as the Soldier pounced on her like some iron-wrought tiger, dragging her to the earth and pinning her beneath its armored form.

Cruel gauntlets ripped, tore, gouged, and she flailed, screamed, begged.

Blood poured off the Soldiers hands in crimson rivers, as it rose from the bloody wreckage of a once living thing.

Meanwhile, the remaining Devils, along with Raynare and Kalawarner, gathered around a kneeling Rias, watching with sick, mute fascination.

"Buchou… Rias… w-who… is that?"

Kiba stared at the Soldier with a faint air of nausea, as a Fallen spiraled lazily past it with one less wing than he'd started with.

Ghostly pale and shivering, Raynare and Kalawarner locked their eyes onto the battling Soldier, wallowing in an inexplicable feeling of shame, and the gut-churning sense they'd been left behind once more.

Silent, liquid trails intermingled with the blood and the dirt on their faces.

They weren't the only ones feeling inexplicably abandoned.

A trembling, bewildered Koneko strained her senses to the fullest, trying to remember something, _anything_ , beyond the scent of iron and blood.

"I… don't know... why can't I…!?"

Rias' watery eyes bored into the Soldier, trying desperately to recall.

 _ **Who was he!?**_

Why couldn't she remember, he was hers, he was one of her precious-

… She could barely, just barely sense all eight of her Pawns, buried within that iron-bound executioner, but she couldn't catch even the faintest clue as to who she'd given them to.

Or why.

Akeno, lying limply in Rias' arms, twisted her head slowly, painfully.

She'd lost all feeling, so now, she could see just dimly past the pain.

Past it to _him,_ past it to the one she-

An old, familiar ache caused her to shudder anew.

That familiar feeling of inescapable loneliness.

Loneliness, and loss.

* * *

He watched, enthralled, as his forces desperately hurled themselves into the arms of their executioner in macabre procession.

Kokabiel couldn't for the life of him understand, but the Soldier below had established an order of events with but a single glance.

In the end, only one remained, and this one didn't fight.

Slowly, he made his way to the ground and prostrated himself on his knees, with eyes closed and head bowed.

Perversely, when the Soldier reached him, it was _he_ who screamed the longest, _he_ who screamed the loudest.

The air was still thick with blood and feathers when inspiration struck.

The Gremory and her pets could remember the Soldiers identity no better than he could…

But could it remember _them_ , or had it lost itself already?

With a casual sort of cruelty, he slung a spear of light at the Gremory's back.

The Unknown Soldier shot it out of the air before it had made it even halfway, only bewildering its 'companions' further.

Heedless of their distress, the Soldier turned its gore-streaked visage upon the fascinated Cadre.

It cocked its head to one side, then the other, inspecting him with a faint air of curiosity.

The lifeless smog that drifted from it renewed in intensity, as the blood of his people poured from its ironclad form.

This time, the smoke wasn't empty.

This time, there were _faces_ within.

They laughed.

They screamed.

They begged.

They cursed.

And without heeding a single one, he had killed them… he had killed them all.

 _Hadn't he?_

Eons of conflict.

Even before he Fell from Heaven, Kokabiel had stood proudly at the forefront of every battle, and his enemies had fallen around him like rain.

There was no possible way he could remember all those he had killed, when he couldn't even begin to guess at how _many_ he'd killed.

For the first time, in what felt like an eternity, an icy sliver of fear crept up his spine.

For the first time, he had realized the simple, awful truth.

 ** _That they remembered him_.**

* * *

Blink and you'd miss it.

Was it the hurled spear of light, or the staccato assault of the Soldier's rifle that had started the hostilities anew?

Rias couldn't have said.

Kokabiel hid his fleshly form from a hail of gunfire with the mighty wings of a Cadre.

The ricochets made the sound of metal on metal.

With a joyous shout, Kokabiel spread his wings once more, but this time, a hurled light-spear accompanied the motion.

The Soldier ducked under the hurtling projectile, and the Cadre charged in his spears wake with a single powerful beat of his wings, a sword of light at the ready.

The Soldier met him with a round, heavy iron shield, and the sword punched right through, scorching an armored shoulder as it passed over.

He pulled it back just in time to parry the Soldier as it plunged a long iron spear over the top of its shield, aiming for his neck with uncanny accuracy.

He tore the shield from the Soldiers grasp and staggered when he found no resistance at all.

The straps that kept it anchored had vanished like mist.

The Soldier swiped with its spear, and the Cadre hopped back, grinning, before beating his wings to engage once more.

Only to meet an attack from an unexpected quarter, as the Holy Demonic sword came howling and singing for his neck.

Kokabiel parried the blow with a grunt, but before he could round on Kiba, he was forced to cross two swords of light overhead as a golden axe came crashing down from above.

He flexed his muscles to force back Kalawarner, and that's when the _Soldiers_ axe came arcing in from below.

A wing clap resounded like thunder, and sent the attackers flying.

Even the Soldier with its keen-edged, bloody axe.

One hand to the thin gash in his chest, Kokabiel directed his attention towards Kalawarner, who had been flipped end over end through the air-

He was forced to pull his gaze back from the pink light-spear that tried to claim it from the side.

With a frustrated snarl, he set his sights on the frightened Raynare and-

Batted aside the Rook whose fist was careening towards his face.

Clearing his view just in time to see the roaring, red and black wave of Destruction that Rias slammed into him.

It washed over him as he roared in pain, the attack not being anything of the magnitude she had used earlier, but the Power of Destruction leaving its mark by its very nature.

The smoking, burning Cadre lowered a smoking, hastily raised hand that had barely covered his face, and glared murder at the Gremory girl.

She met his gaze with equal hostility, still standing protectively over the broken half-breed that lay behind her, Baraqiel's spawn having slipped into unconsciousness.

The last, fleeting mercy she would ever see.

Without looking, he caught the dull grey object the Soldier swung at him, clenched in its fist, his much larger hand engulfed both the object and the Soldiers hand.

Iron, and bone slowly gave way beneath the Cadre's powerful grip.

A blade of light in his hands, Kokabiel spun his leering visage towards the trapped Soldier, and skewered it one smooth motion.

… That had been the plan, but right as his golden light touched the ancient iron, the contents of their interlocked hands _exploded_.

A roar of heat and metal blew the two away from each other, the other combatants just far enough away to avoid the blow-back if they back-pedaled.

Two figures came flying from the smoke, one that trailed smoke from it wings, the other that bounced and crashed noisily.

Kokabiel flicked the smoke from hims wings, his body scorched and covered in numerous, tiny cuts.

Then he heard the soft noise of blood dripping and raised his arm.

 ** _What was left of it._**

A ruined stump, a jagged, cooked, shapeless lump that ended halfway from his elbow.

Even the body of a Cadre could only take so much.

Ironically, his covering hand had saved him from far worse damage.

Saved him and-

Cracked iron groaned and bled, as the Soldier struggled to its feet.

Unlike the Cadre, its destroyed right arm was unexposed, a smooth cuff of metal concealing the stump as if its metallic prison had been designed without a full arm in mind.

It swayed and wobbled as a spider web of cracks leaked crimson.

Bloody, but still standing.

Broken, but unbowed.

Kokabiel tilted his head back and howled and howled, spittle flying from a rage greater than the pain.

Eons of war, and crippled for the first time.

 _By a child in armor._

He had set his sights on the barely upright Soldier, when the noose drew tight.

Destruction sang its song to bring an end to all things.

Howling crimson and midnight black devoured the space between him and the Gremory.

Accompanied by a rain of swords.

Light of twin colors and many, many edges.

The last intact storage shed, hurled like a missile.

And from afar, a pressurized stream of water, as an awakened Slime held a slowly waking Bishop in one arm.

Lastly, Durandal's Holy light tore the ground as Xenovia finally regained her feet.

Kokabiel vanished under the onslaught, as smoke and light blinded everything.

.

.

.

.

The Devils and their allies watched in tense, nervous silence, not daring to hope that-

 _ **"GGRRRRREEMORRRRYYY!"**_

Several things happened at once.

Something stirred within the smoke, and streaming blood, smoke, and ash, a ragged shape bore down on Rias before she could even begin to respond.

The sky above her shattered, the barrier keeping their battle contained, punctured in a single breath.

At the same time, dull grey blur sent her tumbling end over end, and dark blood sprayed high, like a waterfall in reverse.

* * *

It took him a second to realize that his good arm was missing, and that the blood painting the Soldier's iron was his own.

Another second allowed him a glimpse of his missing appendage, lying beside the thin sheet of crimson-streaked ice embedded in the dirt.

Then soft, delicate hands to grip his head from behind, and there were no more seconds to be had.

The battle ended with neither the cheers of the victors, nor the wails of the defeated.

Just a single, awful _**crack**_.

Kokabiel found his perspective dizzyingly wrenched about, his last sight the furious crimson orbs of one Grayfia Lucifuge.

Without a word, the Gremory maid let the body fall.

* * *

Warily, she watched the blood-drenched specter in front of her, not willing to take her eyes off of it, not as its one good hand flexed in readiness.

It was not an enemy, she could assume, for it had saved Rias not moments before, and was currently shielding an unconscious Akeno from her.

She had no guarantee that it knew _she_ wasn't an enemy, however.

"G-Grayfia… you… came? Did… Onii-sama?"

As much as she'd like to answer, more pressing concerns existed.

"Rias-sama, who is this?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the dazed girl prop herself up on her hands, dirty and bruised from her tumble.

The Gremory maid cringed inwardly when the question seemed to hit the young lady with physical force.

"I… I don't know, Grayfia… that's… the Pawn Pieces, I can feel them, but…"

Her silence left only anguish in its wake.

She couldn't remember?

How was that even…

She swept her senses about the field, catching the magical auras of everyone within the school with little effort.

Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Yuuto, Miss Argento, two familiar Fallen, a pair of familiars, the Student Council, and…

 ** _An emptiness._**

 ** _Nothing moved, nothing lived._**

 ** _As if a hole had been torn from the world, right where that armored specter swayed in a sickly breeze._**

"Rias… where is Kazami-san?"

He was the only one missing, and it was hard to imagine that one such as he would-

"K-Kazami…? Kazami…?"

Breathlessly, the young lady repeated the word herself, struggling with a thought just out of reach.

"...Yuuji?"

Her head snapped up, and the fear in the young lady's eyes struck Grayfia in the chest like a hammer.

"YUUJI! YUUJI WHERE ARE YOU!?"

For the first time, Grayfia's focus was torn from the armored figure in front of her as Rias began to panic, casting her eyes desperately about for her missing servant.

That seemed to break the spell for the others, and they too began looking about wildly, frantically searching for their missing comrade and-

Ignoring the armored figure entirely, even as its swaying intensified.

Grayfia was already stepping over the Cadre's corpse when it fell.

It fell, and Grayfia caught it, caught _him_ , the shattered iron giving way beneath her grasp like smoke.

Leaving one Kazami Yuuji to bleed all over her chest.

Rias whipped her head towards them, and burst into tears, scrambling to her feet in desperation.

Grayfia didn't notice, swiftly bringing the passed out boy to lie on the ground, as the dispersal of his armor had promptly drenched her side in blood.

The boy's right arm had squished against her in a way that nothing to do with her, and everything to do with him.

A soft moan, and Akeno twisted in her pained sleep, reaching out towards the prone boy.

His one good hand caught hers, and they both went still once more.

* * *

Damn it was bright in here.

Smelled… sterile?

Ah, guess they managed to drag him out of the trench after the mortars hit.

… Looking under the blankets was a bad idea, he was pretty sure he'd seen a leg flying and it might have been-

Huh? Mortar?

What in Olympus was that?

Must have hit her head when the arrow unhorsed her.

Seems her sisters had rescued her, oh and look!

One of them was sitting with her head resting on the bed, she must have passed out while staying at her bedside, holding her-

 **That wasn't his hand.**

 **Where had her hand gone?**

 **Where was it, what was this, it felt wrong it felt wrong it felt wrong-**

Mmm, Yuuji, don't be so rough…

Yuuji?

 **Twin flowers of the richest violet bloomed to life in front of his vision.**

"...Akeno?"

Her smile was like daybreak.

A dawn he'd never dreamed of seeing.

"Yuuji!"

She called his name, and Kazami Yuuji fell back in place.

He shook his pounding head with a low groan, offering a small smile towards the water-eyed ravenette at his bedside.

"... Sorry to worry you."

She shook her head and wiped away a tear, her smile only growing.

Yuuji felt a hot flash of shame at the worry and fear he caught slipping back beneath the surface.

"No, it's fine… I'm so, so glad you're awake. It's been two days."

"Two days? What happened? Where are we, what happened to…"

A cruel _**snap**_ echoed through his mind, bringing with it a dark surge of rage.

Akeno recoiled from him, wide-eyed.

"Are… are you okay, Akeno? Is… everyone?"

Something unpleasant flickered once more across those beautiful violet orbs, but when Akeno's smile returned, it vanished.

"Yeah, I'm okay. We're all okay. We made it, Yuuji. We made it."

"... Good. That's good… so… where's my arm?"

Slowly, Yuuji had let his gaze fall to the hand that held Akeno's.

From just below the elbow of his right hand, there was nothing but dull grey iron.

It didn't quite look like armor.

More like the arm of a well-articulated puppet, carved from metal rather than wood.

Yuuji cursed under his breath when that radiant smile dimmed once more.

"You, don't remember? I… wasn't awake for it… s-so Rias can tell you more."

Yuuji's eyes narrowed searchingly as the girl trailed off and averted her gaze.

Something was wrong… but pushing the matter might be a bad idea.

He'd give her time.

"... Alright then."

Akeno seemed grateful he wasn't going to pry.

"So then, what happened to Kokabiel, and the other Fallen? I don't remember much past when we killed those Cerberus or whatever."

There it was again.

That tiny glimmer of hurt across Akeno's eyes.

 ** _... It was really pissing him off._**

"I… Rias can tell you better than I can, and we promised that whoever was there when you woke up would tell the others. Besides… I think someone _else_ is starting to wake up."

Akeno gave a meaningful nod past him, and he turned his head to see-

A warm cascade of gold, the wavy blond hair of-

"Morning, JB."

"Mmm… morning, Yuuji."

She blinked once.

Yuuji stared at her patiently.

She blinked again.

Yuuji offered a tiny smile.

"YUUJI!"

He winced as arms threw themselves around him.

"I kept my promise."

Sniffles from either side of him.

"Yeah, yeah you did."

For a moment, that was all that mattered.

A yawn from the foot of his bed, and a sleepy, shaggy head rose into view.

{"Good nap?"}

"Yeah, you?"

{"Not bad at all. Feeling better?"}

"Yeah… I think we're okay."

He hoped they were okay.

* * *

"I'll leave you two to catch up a bit while I fetch Rias, hm?"

"Yeah, okay, thanks Akeno."

"Ara, don't think it's that simple Yuu-"

Having already anticipated what the mischievous Queen was going to suggest, Yuuji cut her off by slipping his tongue between her open lips and mashing his lips against hers.

When she released his iron hand, it swept up and caught the back of her head, trapping her.

Akeno's eyes went wide and then drifted slowly shut, returning the kiss with equal passion.

She had just begun to moan into him when JB cleared her throat.

Loudly.

Akeno went red as Rias' hair and broke the kiss.

JB looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you want a kiss too?"

"I'm not a voyeur, at least wait until I leave the room."

"Sorry JB, but with all the nonsense that's been happening, this has actually been the longest dry spell since our first date."

Akeno, with an air of absolute seriousness, straightened in her seat and said.

"Rias can wait, the bed has enough space."

Then she winked salaciously at JB.

"Care to join us?"

JB stared at her in dumbfounded shock for a moment, and then sighed the sigh of the damned.

"There are two of them. Why are there two of them?"

"Ufufu, sorry, sorry, I'll leave you alone."

Laughing merrily, Akeno rose gracefully from her seat and turned away, sauntering from the room with a playful sway of her hips.

Yuuji shamelessly watched her go, and that's when it happened.

Akeno had just reached the door, and pulled it open, when her entire body seemed to shudder, forcing her to catch herself against the door-frame, panting heavily.

Ruth's head shot up once more, as an alarmed Yuuji shot a quick glance towards JB, who…

Watched with clear concern, but didn't seem all that surprised.

"... Akeno?"

The girl went rigid at his soft call, but lowered her head to take long, deep breaths.

Yuuji watched her in silence, until Akeno pushed herself off the door and twirled back around to smile winningly at him.

"Teehee, guess my legs fell asleep on that hard, hard stool. Hope I didn't scare you, Yuuji-kun!"

She playfully knocked a fist against her head and stuck her tongue out to the side.

"... Okay then. Be careful."

Akeno grinned and nodded, before sweeping out of sight.

"Like hell I believe that."

He gave a nod, and Ruth followed after her, slipping into the shadows without a sound.

The door closed.

"She's not a very good liar, is she? Well, that would be Ria-tan's place to tell you, not mine."

"Fair point, I suppose…"

Yuuji's head slowly turned back to JB's.

"Ria-tan?"

The smiling blonde tilted her head.

"Isn't that the nickname she prefers? Her Onii-sama told me that."

"Sirzechs? You met Rias' older brother?"

"Sure did, the Gremory's own this hospital, after all."

"... Explain."

"Explain what? Rias called me over the phone to let me know what was happening, and I was able to speak with her mother."

"Which led to them bringing you over here?"

"Yep, they flew me over, right after I explained that I'm basically your mom."

Yuuji paused for a moment, and was nodding in agreement, when the implication hit him, and all that slipped out was a wear sigh.

"... All the Gremory's are just like Rias, aren't they?"

JB nodded empathetically.

"Okay, I understand the situation, I think. Now, before Rias gets here?"

JB smiled and nodded once more.

Yuuji nodded in return, and angled his head slightly away from her.

A Devil like Yuuji hardly felt the slap, but he didn't need physical pain for it to hurt.

Wordlessly, he reached up his free hand -JB had once more claimed the other- and pulled her head down to rest against his chest.

"Sorry for scaring you… I'm still here, Julia."

The growing spots of wetness were answer enough.

* * *

With a last sniffle, JB pushed her head off Yuuji's chest and wiped a hand over her eyes, composing herself as the door swung open once more.

Standing there was a crimson-haired young woman, beautiful even with the exhaustion that hung over her like a curtain.

Yuuji offered a small salute.

"Kazami Yuuji, reporting in."

Rias smiled her tender smile, and some of the tension seemed to drift away.

"Welcome back, Yuuji."

Rias walked slowly into the room, taking the free stool offering a nod and smile towards JB, as his King primly folded her hands on her lap.

JB winked at him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I'll be outside, kay?"

"Yeah, thanks JB."

Rias waited until the door was closed before she turned to him, and Yuuji asked his first of many questions.

"Am I the last one to wake? How is everyone?"

Rias closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"Shaken. No one's injured anymore, but that was the closest most of us have come to death."

"That's understandable. Making it through with no casualties is frankly a miracle."

Rias shivered, but offered a mute nod.

"What happened, Rias? After the Cerberus, and Kiba's fancy new sword, everything gets kinda hazy."

"That's… that's the part when Kokabiel put you through a shed. Two of them, actually."

Yuuji watched as Rias wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself tightly.

"That's not all, is it?"

Rias shook her head, but bit her lip rather than continue.

"Buchou."

Yuuji reached across for her, using his still flesh-and-blood hand.

Ignoring, for now, how stiff it seemed to be.

"He… h-he…all that time he'd just been _toying_ with us. One after another he tore through us and I couldn't stop him and I-I've never felt so _helpless_ , so _useless_."

Rias hunched over in her seat, getting louder and louder, and hugging herself tighter and tighter.

Yuuji looked on, the only sound her made the muted groan as his iron fist clenched.

"I… Akeno, he…"

She lifted her tear-stricken face to stare helplessly into Yuuji's dark eyes.

"He broke her back over his knee, and all I could do was _watch_."

Yuuji grit his teeth, and a low snarl slipped through.

"And then he, and then you… you rose out of the wreckage, and there was iron, and smoke, and then you just vanished-"

"Rias."

A comforting squeeze, a paltry attempt to keep her grounded.

She took a long, quavering breath and closed her eyes.

"There was, something there with us. A warrior, a _soldier_ masked in iron that tore through the Fallen like paper. It fought Kokabiel, fought and bled and it destroyed its own arm to take one of his, and…"

When her eyes slid open once more, it was a gaze of one lost and plagued by memories they couldn't seem to grasp.

"The next thing we knew, Grayfia had torn open the barrier to save us, and she finished off Kokabiel before he could kill that… that _soldier_ protecting us. Kokabiel's body had barely hit the ground when I realized that somewhere along the way, you'd vanished. Grayfia caught it, and suddenly you were bleeding out in her arms."

Yuuji finally recognized the emotion she'd been trying to conceal.

Guilt.

"It was you, Yuuji. That… it was you. It was all you, the memories came back the second the mask vanished, but the whole time you were wearing, it we couldn't even remember your name! That damn armor stole you from existence and we could barely even tell something was wrong! What kind of sick Sacred Gear erases an entire person like that!?"

Breathless she halted, all ragged gasps and wild eyes.

"That's what happened to your arm, Yuuji. You… destroyed it to take one of Kokabiel's, and after you'd passed out, before Grayfia could even stop the bleeding it... it just grew out of you like some iron weed..."

"That's enough, Rias."

Rias shook her head in denial, a frantic air about her.

"No… I need to say this. I have to say this."

Another deep breath, and the cloud of guilt around her grew heavier.

"You're not the first one to use the Arsenal Memoir, but not a single name is ever recorded. I-I... Akeno and I both knew, but we were afraid and we kept it from you and I'm sorry... but it… it must be the armor. It's your Balance Breaker, the mature form of your Sacred Gear."

She met his eyes firmly.

Or perhaps she thought she did.

Yuuji had never seen Rias Gremory looking quite so desperate.

"It's called the Unknown Soldier, and it must be the reason there has never been a past wielder whose name made it into the history books. Yuuji, please."

Her nerves failed, and she closed her eyes once more.

Her next words, scarcely more than a whisper.

"Please, I beg you… don't ever use your Balance Breaker again."

* * *

Kiba took the news more quietly than most, sighing in relief as Akeno brought the news.

Yuuji had awoken.

They were somewhat less than whole, but they were together.

His relief vanished, and he turned away quickly to conceal an expression he wasn't even sure of.

Should he tell him?

If so, when?

And how?

How could he tell Yuuji, how could he ask him for answers?

He alone had seen behind that plain white mask.

Seen that if you ignored the snow-white hair, and the blood red eyes, Valper Galilei's mysterious young companion…

 _Had worn the same face as Kazami Yuuji._

* * *

 **Dun Dun Dun…**

 **Nah, it's probably not important.**

 **Well, that was fun, and also a total bitch to write.**

 **Yes, I'd been planning to do that to Akeno for a very long time. Her struggles will be a little different, just as every character will be just a little different.**

 **Kiba gets his Balance Breaker (and it all started because I forgot the name of his canon Balance Breaker), and snowy wings.**

 **Because a young Devil gaining the ability to make HOLY objects without any physiological change seems a waste. More on that later.**

 **Yuuji's Balance Breaker is finally revealed, somewhat, you can expect more details later. There really wasn't a good time for an exposition dump. He's also been begged not to use it, and since Yuuji is a cautious lad, don't expect to-**

 **Okay, you'll probably see it sooner than any of the sensible characters would like.**

 **Here, you all received the long-awaited answer as to how Yuuji would beat Kokabiel.**

 **Which is; Not really.**

 **This was always going to be gory and messy and they were just going to barely make it out, because they were just a little too strong to not piss off Kokabiel.**

 **They were lucky that Kokabiel settled on humiliation first.**

 **And Grayfia was always the nuclear option, because why wouldn't Sirzechs use his nightmarishly powerful maid in an emergency?**

 **Kokabiel has ten wings, and is thus among the second strongest category of Fallen.**

 **Grayfia is an Ultimate-Class Devil whose power is acknowledged to be Satan-class, a class that** _ **breaks**_ **Devil power scaling. She should be able to hold Kokabiel at bay as the minimum, provided the barrier remains in place.**

 **A wounded, one-armed Kokabiel, against a pissed off Grayfia with no interest in fucking around?**

 **Well, you probably know if you made it this far.**

 **Oh, and I was not, under any circumstances, enjoying all the theories on what Issei was like and what he was doing.**

 **Because that would be mean, and I knew that lad was very dead. Poor, poor Irina.**

 **I really do like her, I swear.**

 **Anyways, feel free to share your thoughts, and I'll see you all next time.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **PS: Yuuji's Balance Breaker gets its name from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Might offer some insight into it's true nature.**


	12. Pull Me Back Together

**This chapter is a mixture of the aftermath, and the consequences of the previous events. Sort of an in-between chapter, bringing one arc to a close so another can begin.**

 **While I don't imagine every arc will have its own 'wind-down' chapter, last chapter was the largest yet, so I felt this was the best way to handle it.**

 **Probably prudent, because this was originally going to be a shorter than normal chapter, but somehow ended up one of the longer ones.**

* * *

He still thought that he'd gotten off easy in the end.

Perhaps not the most believable of arguments when you were on hands and knees over the toilet bowl, trying not to vomit, but Yuuji really did believe that.

Akeno was currently kneeling by his side, violet eyes glittering with concern as her soft hand rubbed small circles in his back.

The thin, almost transparent night robe that she wore didn't really cover much of anything, loosely tied and short as it was, but they usually slept naked anyways.

Yuuji was considering tonight a win, that he hadn't woke up screaming was definite progress.

Apparently such things were par for the course when you woke up from a gruesome, miserable death not your own, only to find a foreign object had invaded a body you could hardly recognize.

That 'foreign object' was his metal arm, and the lovely side perk of fractured, horrible memories that didn't belong to him were the side benefits of what Rias had called his Balance Breaker.

As he had been told, the arm had grown out of him while he was unconscious after his battle with Kokabiel, and that had been far more accurate than anyone could guess.

The tests run by the Gremory family doctors had confirmed as much, just above the elbow of his right arm, muscle and bone had not so much been replaced, but almost perfectly _replicated_ with iron.

Beneath the solid plating of the exterior, hundreds of tiny iron wires had stitched themselves onto the frayed ends of his nerves and sinews, so seamlessly as to almost appear natural.

To an outside observer, it simply appeared to be a high-quality prosthetic, but how well it fit onto Yuuji, if anything just made the discomfort worse.

That the range of motion and dexterity of the limb were unaffected, in any way, was small comfort.

The memories seemed to be an after-effect of the Unknown Soldier, but since they didn't have any information to go on, the only common thread seemed to be that the memories belonged to other warriors, other soldiers of some kind.

He hadn't told anyone yet, because any mention of his Balance Breaker seemed to bring only gloom, but he had actually gained a few things from it.

Sure, he wasn't exactly sure how often he'd use something like horse archery, since he didn't own a horse, but...

It just seemed like a time in his life to focus on the little blessings.

After a few minutes of silence, Yuuji's arm had ceased feeling like a foreign invader, crawling under his skin, and was now just a little numb and cold.

Yuuji let out a deep breath and leaned back on his haunches as the nausea faded away.

A pair of soft arms draped their way over his shoulders a moment later, Akeno leaning in close to press her head up against his shoulder.

Yuuji wrapped his own arms around her waist, and they stayed like that for a while, taking simple comfort in each others presence.

"Think I'm okay now. What time is it?"

"Just after six. Plenty of time to take care of the other arm, if you need it?"

"Yeah, if it's not too much trouble."

"It never is, Yuuji."

Smiling at him, Akeno gave him another slight squeeze before rising to her feet, offering her hand.

Yuuji let her pull him up, just in time to catch her from falling when another spasm hit the girl without warning, Akeno giving a low grunt as her legs gave way.

Yeah, Yuuji thought he'd gotten off pretty easy.

He was used to night terrors, he was used to pain, confusion and not sleeping through the night.

In his opinion, Akeno had it worse.

* * *

The term used by the Gremory physicians was 'phantom regression'.

Asia had healed her shattered spine, and the pinched nerves that would have left Akeno crippled from the waist down, but complications had arisen.

Phantom regression was a disorder viewed as a variant of phantom pain, unique to Reincarnated Devils, and any others who hadn't been born wholly supernatural.

Simply put, the consequence of Akeno having healed from a life-altering injury in less than an hour was that her nervous system became 'confused'.

So rather than feeling a lost limb, as was the case with phantom pain, Akeno's body would occasionally remember that it was supposed to be crippled, and act accordingly.

Without warning, several times a day if she was unlucky, the lower part of her spine would simply stop working, resulting in partial or complete loss of function below the waist.

When she was lucky, this would result in momentary weakness, forcing the Gremory Queen to lean heavily against a wall (or companion) for a few moments until the episode passed.

When she was less than lucky, however…

When the worst possible timing saw Akeno tumbling down the stairs to land headfirst on the first floor of the dormitory, a panic-stricken Rias had all but ordered the poor girl into a wheelchair.

This had resulted in one of the most vicious fights they'd had in years, and the shouting match that had shaken the building ended with the two old friends crying in each others arms, a sobbing Akeno finally giving in.

Perhaps Akeno's saving grace was that the other members of her family were just as willing to be there for her, as she was for them.

That, and Akeno discovered the romanticism that came from being princess-carried up the staircase by the strong arms of one Kazami Yuuji, even if it took her a few tries to look him in the eyes without blushing like an innocent maiden.

The elevator Rias had put into the dorm didn't see as much use as one might think.

Koneko, in her own way helped as well, because whenever she wasn't pushing Akeno's chair, she could be found snuggled into the older girl's lap, accepting the Queen's smothering affection with a dignified air.

Attempting to, anyways.

No one was fooled, but no one could bring themselves to tease the little Rook when they saw the joy on her senpai's face.

Thankfully, phantom regression was not a permanent disorder, according to the doctors, lasting perhaps a month or two at the longest.

Yuuji, unexpectedly, found another way to help his lover, as Akeno took over the 'ritual' to keep down the paralytic effects of the Arsenal Memoir entirely, due to the surprising benefits that came with it.

Upon absorbing the excess magical energy from Yuuji, Akeno's body, in an attempt to normalize the flow of energy, would automatically convert it into her own mana.

Her body forcing itself into a state of equilibrium muted the effects of phantom regression to a degree, meaning that on days when Yuuji required Akeno's help, Akeno would subsequently have to deal with less episodes.

Yuuji had no intention, whatsoever, of admitting that he was subtly using Arsenal Memoir more frequently in private.

Meaning the ritual was necessary on just a slightly more frequent basis, as he carefully skirting the line that would lead to worry or suspicion.

Perhaps if pressed on the matter, Yuuji would have said that he considered the risks were worth it.

The truth of the matter was that the risks were never even considered.

* * *

In the days following the battle, Rias had proven, once again, how lucky the ORC was to be under her care.

She had spread her wings, and swept everyone underneath them like the mother hen she always was, and the results had spoken for themselves.

Asia wasn't allowed to wallow in the guilt she'd felt for being unconscious when all the worst injuries had occurred.

Suu had needed to step in to help, back at the school, the little Bishops impressive pool of mana not nearly enough for the demands of Twilight Healing.

Not with Akeno, Yuuji, and Ruth all left crippled.

Suu, with her ability to absorb magic, through Grayfia's guidance, found herself able to slowly transfer the magic she absorbed into Asia, with the help of the Familiar Bond.

Grayfia, of course, offered herself as a donor, which brought with it troubles of its own.

Namely, Suu had trouble limiting her absorption, and Grayfia had mana equivalent to the entire ORC, multiplied several times over.

The magical energy had flooded Suu with a speed she couldn't even begin to keep up with, her body's expansion giving way to odd ripples and a difficulty maintaining human shape.

The bizarre sight of a Slime vomiting liquid, only slightly more clear than her own body, was not one they'd soon forget.

She had then collapsed into a puddle, and Asia had burst into tears.

Needless to say, Asia blamed herself for the whole thing.

Tried, anyways.

Rias had other ideas.

Among other things, Rias had spent a lot of time training Asia to be a proper housewife, which translated to cooking classes that Raynare joined in.

Koneko and Suu joined as well, though they were promptly delegated (by themselves) to be taste-testers.

Koneko had gotten out of the fight relatively unscathed, but the combined stress of the battle, and her unexpected reunion with Kuroka had dragged forth the old fear of being alone.

So Rias didn't allow her to _be_ alone unless asked.

Kiba had achieved Balance Breaker, and a decisive victory against that which had haunted him for so long.

It hadn't been nearly enough against Kokabiel, and the frustration, the sense of helplessness showed.

Rias had denied both by beaming at him whenever she thought he wasn't looking, and when he inevitably noticed (as she'd planned), waving away his questions with a flippant remark of how she was just taking time to 'appreciate how lucky she was to have a little brother so amazing'.

Kiba became very, _very_ well-acquainted with how wildly excited Rias was to have her precious Knight achieve something that had never, _ever_ been achieved.

The fusion of Holy and Demonic was no small thing, and Kiba could only face overwhelming love and pride on his behalf for so long before he accepted that maybe, just maybe, he'd done enough.

Sure, he couldn't use Rakshasa Divine for very long, and he didn't quite _understand_ it yet, but using a miracle for any length of time was impressive enough in itself.

Raynare, for her pat, had been hit the hardest by the realization that Kokabiel had strung them along the whole time, but Kalawarner had that well in hand, being almost as much a mother hen as Rias.

If Kalawarner had been bothered by the betrayal, she never let it show.

Rias could respect that, even if she still kept a concerned eye on the older woman.

They'd shared a good laugh when it became apparent Kalawarner was watching over _her_ just as carefully.

Akeno, as Rias' Queen, and one of the oldest members of the peerage, had been working just as hard as Rias, even if she was arguably the most in need of extra care.

Teasing and tender in equal amounts, she never failed to coax a smile out of the younger members, and it was rare to see her alone in the days that followed the battle, always making sure she had the time for someone else.

Rias perhaps wouldn't have been so successful if Akeno hadn't worked just as hard.

All the more impressive, when you were the primary motivation between the school's 'emergency renovations' involving _actual_ renovations.

With the only injury not easily concealed -having glamored Yuuji's iron arm to appear flesh and blood to ordinary folk- Akeno had the cover story of having been the unfortunate victim of a hit-and-run.

As the report said, Akeno had been lucky to get off with only a 'minor spinal fracture' to explain the occasional episode.

Sona had been pushing to make Kuoh Academy wheelchair accessible for quite some time, anyways.

* * *

"Xenovia Quarta, I'll be in your care."

Offering a small bow, the new transfer student had just introduced herself, and a patiently smiling Kalawarner allowed the class to indulge their curiosity, within reason.

"Where are you from, Quarta-san?"

"What are your hobbies?"

"What hair product do you use?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"What are your three-"

This last question was cut off when the teacher, without looking in the speakers direction, casually bounced a small piece of chalk off said speakers head, smiling pleasantly all the while.

Xenovia gave Kalawarner an impressed nod, even if she hadn't the slightest clue as to what had prompted that action.

"I'm from Italy. My hobbies are training. I use shampoo? No, but I have my eye on someone."

The second flood of questions and the classes excitement were interrupted by Kalawarner's loud cough.

"I think that's enough questions for now, feel free to get to know each other better during the break. Quarta-san, the seat next to Argento-san will be yours, please be seated."

Kalawarner raised an eyebrow ever so slightly as she regarded Xenovia, who offered a nod in return.

Making her way to her assigned seat, Xenovia immediately found herself slightly blinded as the former Holy Maiden beamed at her.

Past the smiling girl, Yuuji offered a small nod, though Raynare's expression held just a tiny bit of wariness as she waved to the former Exorcist.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're in class with us! Let me know if you're missing any textbooks, and we can share!"

"Yeah… thanks, Asia."

She still felt a little guilty when Asia smiled at her like that.

She still didn't feel like she'd deserved immediate forgiveness for the awful things she'd said.

Xenovia had also decided that she would never quite forgive the Church for what they'd done to Asia.

Yuuji watched the girl calmly out of the corner of his eye.

Seemed she was adjusting well.

Her Reincarnation as a Devil had made for a... s _trange_ day.

* * *

His morning run had taken him in a random direction, Yuuji deciding to mix up his usual route to help clear his head.

This had lead him past the old church where the Exorcist duo, Xenovia and Irina, had been staying until recently.

This in no way explained why the lights were still on.

Or the door was unlocked.

Or why Xenovia, rather than being busy reporting directly to her superiors, was currently lying on the cold stone floor, staring up at the ceiling.

Upon his approach, Xenovia had briefly turned her head his way and offered a greeting, before turning her head back towards the ceiling.

"Oh, hello there, Yuuji."

Yuuji decided to start with the obvious.

"Why the floor?"

The bluenette let out a long yawn, clearly not having slept very well, or perhaps at all.

"It's nice and cool, so I was hoping the chill would help me clear my head."

"Aren't you supposed to be home by now?"

"Oh, I don't have one of those anymore."

"... You asked, didn't you?"

"... Asked?"

"If the Church knew about God's death."

Xenovia didn't turn her head his way, but a tiny, bitter laugh slipped out.

"I'm probably the first Exorcist in Church history to be excommunicated over the phone."

"It's probably for the best you didn't ask in person."

"Yeah."

Small comfort.

"What happened to Irina?"

"She doesn't seem to have heard Kokabiel, for what little comfort it is. She probably knows what happened to me by now, but I got a little lost in the airport, and she was forced to leave without me."

Xenovia smiled sadly.

"She probably spent the whole flight worried sick, and now the first news she'll hear about me is that I'm a heretic. I imagine she's feeling rather confused and betrayed right about now."

They remained in silence for a while, Xenovia returning to her careful examination of the ceiling.

She was admittedly a bit surprised when the heavy silence was broken by the whisper of cloth.

Her well-honed instincts didn't detect the slightest threat, so she found herself at a complete loss when she was unceremoniously flung over Yuuji's shoulder.

"What are you-"

"You're technically a Stray Exorcist. Sorry, but I'm taking you prisoner."

"... I see."

That her next response to the abrupt claim was to slump over his shoulder, in apparent surrender, told Yuuji all he needed to know.

The only sound made was the dull grind of a metal fist being clenched, and heavy wooden doors swinging shut.

* * *

"Oh yeah, I forgot you sleep naked."

"THAT'S THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND!?"

"Ho, so the Gremory heiress sleeps in the nude? This is valuable information."

"HOW!?"

Yuuji had just calmly swung open Rias' bedroom door, luckily not waking her up, as his King was already sitting up in bed when he opened it.

Her confusion possibly stemmed from the fact that Xenovia was still casually draped over his shoulder.

The now Stray Exorcist had lifted her head to regard Rias with keen interest, not at all bothered by the glorious breasts on full display by one of Hell's most promising daughter's.

Rias sighed, resigned to the conversation she was about to have.

"Yuuji."

"Yes, Buchou?"

Yuuji tilted his head in curiosity.

"Explain, please."

"I picked up a stray?"

"... Why am I not surprised?"

"Because there's a precedent already set?"

"Put her down."

Yuuji complied, dropping Xenovia onto her feet.

Rias let out a deep breath and schooled her features into a pleasant smile, displaying the grace and dignity of one of her station, despite still being naked and having slight bed head.

"Clearly we have much to discuss, but I'd at least like to be fully clothed. Could the two of you wait in the common room?"

"Sure."

Yuuji closed the door.

Xenovia turned to look at him, curiosity tingeing her normally stoic demeanor.

"So, why'd you bring me here?"

Yuuji blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"Now you're asking questions?"

Xenovia put a finger to her chin in thought, silent for a moment as she pondered.

"Yes, I do believe that's the case."

"For now, let's just say there's a precedent set."

"Hmm, you told Rias that as well…"

Xenovia's blank expression contorted into one of pure disbelief.

"... Why would you?"

The question was so quiet, he wasn't entirely sure she'd meant it to be out loud.

Yuuji shrugged, and turned on his heel, heading downstairs without another word.

Xenovia stared after him in troubled silence for a moment before following suit.

* * *

They had sat quietly for a while before Rias came down the stairs, dressed in simple night clothes and a robe.

She watched Xenovia carefully for a moment, before reaching into her cleavage to pull something out, placing it down on the coffee table before taking her seat.

A single red chess piece, made to look like the head and neck of a horse.

The Knight.

Xenovia stared at it without blinking, eyes widening ever so slightly.

She slowly lifted her head and asked the Gremory heiress one word, barely audible even in the early morning silence.

"Why?"

Rias smiled at her, beautiful blue eyes observing her keenly.

"You couldn't help but ask, could you? The Church didn't want their secret out, so they cut you off in a heartbeat. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised you're alive, but the fact of the matter is, as things stand, you're alone, aren't you? This is the only thing I can offer you, in exchange for fighting alongside us."

Xenovia smiled sadly at the frank assessment.

"Am I that easy to read?"

Rias shook her head.

"No, in truth I expected as much if either of you chose to ask questions. I take it Irina either didn't say anything, or didn't manage to hear anything damning?"

"No, she doesn't know anything."

Rias let out a small sigh.

"I hope you'll forgive me for saying so, but I suppose that's a mercy, in the end. I won't pry, but it seems the poor girl has enough to deal with as it is."

Those screams would not soon be forgotten.

"Yeah. I feel guilty for thinking this way, but I hope she never finds out."

Rias smiled softly, waving a hand slightly as if to brush away the younger girls concerns..

"It's not a simple situation by any means, but I don't think it's wrong to not want your friend to suffer."

Xenovia smiled back, still looking a little conflicted, but grateful nonetheless.

Rias clapped her hands together to move things along.

"Well, that aside, what do you think of my offer? If it makes things simpler, it's not as if I don't stand to gain anything from this. I imagine Excalibur Destruction has been returned, but Durandal is still in your possession?"

"That's correct. An exchange of services isn't hard to understand. I suppose it's fitting that the Underworld would take an interest in the Churches cast-offs."

Xenovia pensively crossed her arms, frowning down at her lap.

Rias patiently settled back in her seat, willing to give Xenovia as much time as she needed to-

"Okay, I accept."

Rias froze in disbelief.

Yuuji smirked at the surprised girl, while Xenovia tilted her head in confusion.

"Did... I say something strange?"

Rias blinked and recovered with admirable grace, clearing her throat with a small cough.

"No, no, not at all. If you're willing to accept, then there's no need to discuss things further. Once you accept this Evil Piece, you will be reborn as a Devil, and serve as my second Knight."

"I understand. I will pledge to serve Rias Gremory faithfully as my King, and defend her and her household with my life."

As she spoke, Xenovia slipped off her chair and onto one knee, placing one hand over her heart and bowing low.

Yuuji wondered if offering Rias a sword to knight her with would be in poor taste.

Rias rose gracefully from her seat, lifting the Knight Piece from the table and moving to stand before the kneeling girl.

Xenovia lifted her hands, without raising her head.

Rias placed the Knight piece onto her outstretched hands, and Xenovia placed it against her chest, where it disappeared with a crimson shimmer.

Leathery black pinions sprouted from Xenovia's back.

"Rise, my Knight…"

Rias smiled proudly down at her newest peerage member, her elegant voice brimming with warmth and authority.

Xenovia lifted her head slowly, unsure as to why she'd gone silent. What she found was an outstretched hand, offering to pull her to her feet.

Hesitantly she reached out, and Rias pulled her to her feet and into her embrace.

"-And join your new family."

The newborn Devil in her arms flinched, before tentatively returning the hug.

That was when a door swung open, and a sleepy Asia wandered out of Kalawarner's room in her nightie.

The little blonde froze upon seeing the former Exorcist, who still had her wings out.

"X-Xenovia-san…?"

Xenovia jerked out of Rias' grasp, an expression of incredible guilt across her face as the crimson-haired beauty watched her with concern.

The new Knight bowed her head low, meaning she was unable to see the utter confusion on the sleepy blondes face.

"Asia… I'm… so, so sorry."

Asia's head gave a cute little tilt, early morning light giving her golden locks a soft, warm glow.

"Sorry? Whatever for?"

Yuuji tried not to laugh as the blue-haired girl jerked her head back up to stare.

"The things that I said… I even offered to…"

"You were trying to help, weren't you?"

Xenovia's mouth dropped open.

After a couple seconds of total silence, Asia began to fidget.

Unbeknownst to her, Kalawarner and Raynare were leaning on the doorway behind her, smiling fondly at Asia even as they kept one eye trained on Xenovia, just in case.

Asia walked closer to the dumbstruck girl, leaning forward slightly in concern.

"Xenovia-san, are… are you okay?"

Yuuji bit the inside of his cheek to keep the laughter in.

Xenovia really had no idea who she was dealing with, did she?

"N-no!"

Asia flinched back from the outburst.

"No, I mean, I'm okay, it's just… you're really not angry… at all?"

Asia straightened up, one delicate finder pressed to her pursed lips.

"Hmm, nope!"

"Nope?"

Xenovia parroted her in disbelief.

"Nope! I forgive you, Xenovia-san."

Xenovia slumped in place, wings retracting as she let out a soft sigh.

"Just like that, huh?"

"Yep!"

Asia beamed at her.

"I see… you're so kind, it's a bit worrying to be honest but…"

Xenovia stood tall, her gaze firm with conviction.

"I won't let anyone take advantage of that, I swear it."

Rias' smile grew from ear to ear.

"Does that mean we can be-?"

Asia had perked up and began to blurt out a question, but caught herself, blushing and fidgetting with her head ducked.

"Sorry, Asia? I didn't quite catch that?"

Xenovia leaned forward slightly, smiling kindly at the smaller girl.

"D-does that mean w-we can… b-be friends?"

Asia lifted her head, one lovely green eye peeking through her bangs as she blinked shyly up at the new Gremory Knight.

Rias made a strangled noise and clutched at her heart, the two Fallen Angels following suit.

Xenovia's mouth fell open for the second time.

"Friends? You... want to be friends with someone like... me?"

"Is that... too much..?"

"No… I was just surprised."

Xenovia smiled warmly at her.

"I would be honored, Asia… chan?"

Hesitancy slipped out in her tone, only to be blasted away an instant when Asia blurred into motion with speed she never could have seen coming.

The next thing she knew, the little Bishop had pounced on her, the taller Knight catching the ecstatic girl as she flung her arms around Xenovia neck and pressed their cheeks together.

"Yay! Thank you so much, Xenovia-san!"

Scarlet bloomed across Xenovia cheeks as Rias whipped her head away, hands clamped tightly over her mouth to muffle the adoring squeal that definitely had not just slipped out.

Raynare and Kalawarner didn't even try.

* * *

Athletic without being unfeminine, stoic and to-the-point, Xenovia was an immediate hit with her new class, even if she understood neither the questions, nor the interests of her peers.

That she was almost as protective of Asia as Raynare sent the poor Fallen into a fit of giggles, deciding then and there that she would be friends for life with the new member of her little family.

The source of her giggles was a whispered rumor that Xenovia seemed just like a noble knight, waiting dutifully on the innocent, naive maiden that was Asia.

It would take until the end of the school day for the title of 'Kuoh Academy's Lady Knight' to catch on.

Raynare would forever deny that she had played a hand, or eight, in the matter.

After class, Xenovia had followed them down to the Occult Research Club, Kiba having joined them on the way. Kalawarner was a bit delayed, having stayed behind to answer the questions of one of her students.

Rias, Akeno and Koneko were already present, but today, it was Asia that served the tea. Akeno had brewed it, as normal, but her injury meant that serving the tea was a bit of a gamble.

Fortunately, she had no shortage of volunteers to help out.

Akeno beamed at him as Yuuji sat down beside her, shuffling herself a bit closer until their hips were touching.

Once they were all seated and served, a smiling Rias addressed her little family.

"Now that things are back to normal, I think it's about time we returned to taking requests. Tonight will be a busy one, but Xenovia, Asia has a request that I'd like you to accompany her for."

Xenovia gave a firm nod as Asia perked up excitedly.

"Normally, we'd start you with fliers, but this seems like a good opportunity so it can wait. Will you be alright to show her the ropes, Asia?"

"Y-yes! I'll do my best, Buchou!"

"Hehe, I'll be in your care, Asia."

Xenovia grinned at her new friend.

'Wonderful. Akeno will sync your Gremory crest with our summoning circle."

As that was taken care of, Rias turned her head to Yuuji.

"We have a request for you as well, any schedule conflicts I should know about?"

Yuuji shook his head.

"Should be fine, but I'll text JB just in case."

Xenovia turned her head back to Yuuji as he spoke, even while Akeno traced glowing sigils over the crest on Xenovia right hand.

"You have another job, Yuuji?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you all about it some other time."

Xenovia was currently the only one who didn't know about Yuuji's 'part-time job'.

Yuuji had missed it, but apparently that had been an interesting conversation, to say the least.

JB had explained things, citing that he would 'drag things out and muck things up', thus having taken it upon herself to fill everyone, in while he was bedridden in the hospital.

* * *

" I... can't say I'm all that surprised, to be honest. Yuuji always gave off the impression of being far more dangerous than anyone our age should be."

Rias had spoken slowly, still gathering her thoughts.

She'd always understood, on an instinctual level, that Yuuji had blood on his hands, that Yuuji was, and perhaps always had been, a killer.

No, not just a killer.

Her Pawn was a trained assassin.

Black-ops, employed by the Japanese government agency Ichigaya.

JB had made it clear that this was not something that could simply be revealed to anyone, but had decided to make an exception given the circumstances.

They were essentially Yuuji's family, and so JB had flippantly remarked that confidentiality only applied to humans, since to the best of her knowledge, Devils and Fallen Angels didn't officially exist.

Kiba had been the first to ask the ugly question, that more than a few of them were wondering.

"If he's an assassin, why does Yuuji react so poorly to killing?"

JB raised an eyebrow, and Kiba had told her of their first Stray hunt.

JB had let out a sad sigh when he finished his tale, suddenly looking far older than she should.

"It's a mental block of sorts, put in by the woman who trained him. Frankly speaking, Yuuji is too good at killing. So to counter that, he has a 'safety pin' of sorts that's hard for him to remove on his own. If he goes against it, his body reacts violently, and the result is as you've seen."

Kalawarner spoke up then, brown eyes narrowed.

"The night he rescued Asia, he killed a lot of people. We were with him afterwards, and I don't recall anything like that happening."

"If he has reason enough, the pin will shake loose on its own."

Asia went pale, sniffling as she realized _she_ was the reason.

The older members of the peerage shared concerned looks, their thoughts flying back to the footage of the Rating Game, and Riser's awful fate.

Even if he hadn't actually died, it was clear that had simply been his heritage saving him, rather than any modicum of restraint on Yuuji's part.

"Let me guess, the first time you bumped into him that night was so terrifying you thought your heart would stop?"

The two Fallen Angels shuddered as JB continued on.

"I thought as much."

Kalawarner's scowl deepened.

"Is there… no consequence when this happens?"

JB gave a sad little smile.

"It's probably just what you're thinking, I'm afraid."

Kalawarner wasn't the only one to infer her meaning.

The consequences didn't just go away.

They were merely delayed.

How often had something like that happened? Everyone was thinking the same thing, now.

How many times did Yuuji merely hid away his pain were no one could see? How deep did his scars reach?

After he'd been released from the hospital, Rias had confronted him about it.

It went without saying that she wasn't alone, Akeno, Asia, Raynare and Kalawarner present as well.

Akeno had slapped him when Yuuji had bluntly stated that he didn't think it was that important.

 _They'd_ been the ones hurting when they realized that Yuuji honestly meant that.

He hadn't really known what to say when his apology just made it worse.

Nor had he been aware of how Rias had stayed behind afterwards, making sure she understood precisely the responsibility involved in being Yuuji's second 'handler' so to speak.

Or, how to turn the safety off, if necessary.

He also hadn't known that JB had been truly, truly grateful for no one to have asked the most difficult question of all.

No one had asked her how _young_ Yuuji had been when his career started.

Or what had led him there in the first place.

She wouldn't have minded talking about Asako, even if the memories still stung, just a little.

She doubted she'd ever be _ready_ to talk about Heath Oslo.

* * *

His client was a foreigner of sorts, though seemingly comfortable enough in his yukata.

Black hair with messy, golden bangs and a sly, mischievous grin, the line on his face suggested he had to have at least a decade on JB, but Yuuji knew better than to make guesses.

Perhaps some would have just thought 'bad boy' when they saw the handsome man, but Yuuji had sharper instincts than most.

His client was dangerous in the extreme.

However, Yuuji also had a job to do, and hesitation was not his way.

"Yo, Devil-kun, so you're the one the Gremory girl sent?"

A cheery wave as the man sat on a tatami mat, in front of the table of his small apartment.

"Yeah, that's me. How can I help?"

"You old enough to have a drink with this old man?"

The client enticingly waved the sake bottle in his hand.

"In a few countries, yeah."

Accepting the answer for what it was, the client laughed and poured him a drink.

Tonight was the night that Yuuji would learn that despite having a reasonable level of aptitude in everything he tended to try, video games were a notable exception.

The client had bought a new racing game, and had claimed to be lonely without an opponent.

Yuuji had risen to the task by become well acquainted with virtual ditches.

The man had poured the drinks faster, laughing uproariously all the while, even as he suggested that Yuuji could use the alcohol as an excuse.

That was a nostalgic comment, to say the least.

He had the strange feeling that Asako would have liked the man.

Eventually his client took pity on him and decided to take a break, though the pause screen was teasingly left with an image of Yuuji's car facing the wrong direction.

"So, Devil-kun, I heard a rumor that your school was closed down for 'emergency renovations', nothing too big, I hope? Students should be in school, after all."

Yuuji shook his head.

"Nothing serious, some stray birds were nesting where they weren't supposed to be, and making a mess. Didn't catch all the details, but it only took a day or so to clear them out. Mostly it was just an excuse to get some planned renovations taken care of."

"Hoh, birds was it? I've heard the town's had a few problems with those lately, wonder what's got them all out of whack?"

"Who knows? Maybe the sky's gotten crowded."

"Could be, could be. Wonder what happens to those birds?"

"Depends how much trouble they caused, I suppose. Some were put down, I imagine, but you don't always need to go that far."

"Oh, you seem to know a lot about that sort of thing, don't you?"

"What can I say, I read a lot."

The client laughed again, cheeks a bit rosy from all the sake. He had gone through twice as many refills as Yuuji, after all.

The bottle was almost empty.

"Sounds like you don't have much of a bias either way, huh, Devil-kun?"

"Not really. I don't like violence, I suppose, so getting along is easier."

The man stroked his chin at Yuuji's answer, and for just a moment, his eyes stared off at something far in the distance.

"That so? Well, that's reassuring to hear."

The client clapped his hands together abruptly, before rising to his feet.

"Well, shouldn't keep you too long on a school night, thanks for keeping me company, Devil-kun. Let's get your payment out of the way so we can seal the contract."

Yuuji rose to his feet with a nod, now for the first time able to see just how much of a height gap was between them, the older man having almost half a foot on him.

His offering was a hanging scroll used in tea ceremonies, a gorgeous black and white mountain range depicted.

Yuuji wasn't exactly an art aficionado, but he did have a rough understanding from his sister's brief career as a sought after artist.

Even then, all he could really tell was that it wasn't so much 'old' as it was 'ancient'.

"You might be overpaying me."

The clients first response was a sly grin.

"Call it an investment then, you'll be seeing more of me I'm sure."

"I see."

Yuuji decided that now was as good a time as any to stop beating around the bush.

"Do you have anything you want me to pass on to them?"

The man blinked once, and his smirk disappeared for perhaps the first time.

"How long did it take you to figure things out, Devil-kun?"

The man spoke softly, seeming surprised but not overly concerned.

Yuuji tapped his metal arm meaningfully, feeling it safe to assume the glamor wasn't fooling anyone right now.

"We remember you, Azazel."

Azazel blinked once before throwing his head back to laugh.

"HAHAHA! Of course they would, wouldn't they!"

A look of understanding settled across his features.

'How many did you manage to wake up?"

Azazel spoke quietly, scrutinizing the boy with keen violet eyes.

"Don't know yet, things are a little jumbled up still."

Azazel let out a small sigh before his grin returned, a little more strained than before.

"Sounds about right, that particular Balance Breaker always tends to have a messy wake-up. But, since we're speaking frankly now, Yuuji-kun, allow me a question."

Yuuji watched him carefully for a moment, before giving a small nod.

"That Gremory girl forbid you from using _that_ , didn't she?"

"It freaked them out a little bit, so yeah."

Azazel's eyes narrowed slightly at the word _them_.

"It's not a problem that will just go away, you should know. Either you use Balance Breaker or it uses you, and then they really will lose you forever."

A glimmer of sadness flit across his violet eyes, gone so quickly Yuuji wasn't quite sure if he'd imagined it or not.

"That's how it always seems to go, anyways."

And Yuuji wasn't quite sure he was supposed to hear that.

"I'll pass it on."

The man blinked slowly, as if a little surprised Yuuji was still in the room.

Yuuji took a step back and began creating the summoning circle, dull grey draining the color from the room as it swirled in the shape of the Gremory crest.

One eyebrow raised as he watched the Fallen Angel, waiting for him to finish what he wanted to say.

Yuuji was almost starting to fade from sight when Azazel spoke up once more, not quite meeting his gaze.

"Are they… happy, where they are?"

Yuuji put a finger to his chin.

"I'm a bad person to ask, but... I think so."

A small sigh.

"That so? Take care of them, would you? I… don't have the right to say, or ask anything more."

The room darkening once more was his only reply.

* * *

Understandably, Rias was more than a little shocked to discover that Yuuji's client was the leader of the Grigori.

"First Kokabiel, then the Hakuryuukou, and now Azazel!? Why are the Grigori using my territory as a playground!?"

"Hang on, what's a Hakuryuukou?"

Yuuji interjected before Rias could go off any further.

Rias gave a troubled frown.

"The White Dragon Emperor. I don't know much about him, other than that he's an incredibly powerful wielder of the Longinus Divine Dividing. It houses the Heavenly Dragon, Albion. He's also the one that came to collect Kokabiel's body."

"Hmm, I think Albion rings a bell."

"He was mentioned by Ruth's friend 'Tia-san'."

In an unladylike fashion, fitting for a teenage girl perhaps, Rias made air quotes for emphasis.

"Oh right, the lady with the horns and the tail."

.

.

.

.

"Is that the only thing you remember?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

Rias gave a sigh that sounded oddly defeated.

"Never mind then, I should have known better than to ask. I wonder what Azazel is scheming, laying his hands on my precious Yuuji...! Death, definitely death! I've heard Azazel is interested in Sacred Gears, he must be-"

Rias cut herself off with a shiver, flashing Yuuji a guilty, haunted look.

"N-n-no… that's enough of that for now. Just please Yuuji, be careful."

Yuuji decided to keep his silence, biting his tongue in frustration.

He was starting to lose patience with them tiptoeing around the issue.

Yuuji had been the last one to return that night, and so the air was heavy as the two of them returned home.

Eventually though, Rias found herself troubled by another reason entirely, the smell of sake that clung to Yuuji's clothes.

He hadn't been drinking, had he?

No, this was Yuuji, not some delinquent.

She... wasn't going to ask though, just in case.

She was sure she'd raised him better than that, anyways.

* * *

"Any discomfort? Trouble sleeping? Has anything else changed? How about your appetite, is your appetite okay?"

"Still fine, I promise. Just the new swords I can make and the color of my wings. Nothing else has changed."

"Okay… but tell me right away if anything else changes, no matter how minor it seems, understood?"

"Yes, Buchou."

Kiba was sitting beside Rias on the couch, bearing her morning 'check-up' -read, interrogation- with the patience and grace he was known for.

That it was far more genuine than it had ever been was a testament to how far he'd come.

When she'd gotten past how beautiful they were, Rias had been quite concerned that the Holy Element Kiba had absorbed from his friends had turned his wings white as snow.

If 'quite concerned' was a diplomatic way of saying she'd nearly worried herself sick over the injection of Holy energy into one of _her_ Devils, and the possible complications.

Of which there had been absolutely none, but Kiba had still suggested doing 'check-ups' every morning with her to put her mind at ease.

He'd even managed to talk her down to having the check-ups done by the Gremory family doctors only be a weekly thing.

He didn't often use his silver tongue on those close to him, but a man needed _some_ space, after all.

They turned their heads as Yuuji came into the common room, wearing the tracksuit he wore for his morning runs, and offering a small nod in lieu of a greeting.

"Morning Yuuji-kun."

"Good morning Yuuji, how are you feeling? Yuuto and I just finished his check-up. Is Akeno still asleep?"

Yuuji gave another nod.

"Nothing to report, Buchou. You two are up early."

Rias nodded, before fidgeting a little in her seat.

"I was actually wondering if I could…"

She hesitated.

"Join you on your morning run?"

Yuuji took the excuse for what it was.

"Sure."

Kiba rose gracefully from his seat and excused himself.

Unlike Yuuji, Kiba preferred to run in the evenings anyways, though they did run together from time to time.

Ruth usually joined Yuuji as well, but he had calmly stated through the Familiar link that he'd just slip out while they were at school.

* * *

Their pace was just a tiny bit slower than Yuuji's normal pace on his run, while Rias was more than capable of keeping up, the reduced pace to allow the upcoming conversation to flow a bit more smoothly.

Yuuji had kept his silence, allowing Rias to gather her thoughts and speak when she was ready.

"How has Akeno been, during the night?"

"Assuming you're not talking about our sex life-"

Rias scowled at him, even as her cheeks flushed a little-

"-She's been okay for the most part. The occasional nightmare, but the spasms don't seem to wake her up, for the most part anyways."

Rias' azure eyes glimmered with concern as she pursed her lips.

"How often do they happen?"

"Two or three time a night, less if she's had to help me with my arm before bed. Massaging her a bit when it happens seems to help."

A long sigh.

"That's the best we can hope for, I suppose. Now, how about you, Yuuji?"

Yuuji was silent for a moment as they rounded a corner.

"I've had a few rough nights, but not so bad, I suppose."

"Yuuji, you don't have to hide-"

Yuuji shook his head slightly as they rounded a corner.

"I'm not trying to act tough, Rias."

I just don't know how to say anything more, Rias finished for him, frowning softly.

"I see. Well, I called in a few favors, so hopefully we'll have more information on your Sacred Gear soon. I'm pretty lucky to know the greatest mind in the Underworld on a personal level."

Yuuji cocked an eyebrow.

"The greatest mind?"

Rias let out a small hum in confirmation.

"Ajuka Beelzebub, one of the four Satans. I don't really like using my connections like that, but he is my Onii-sama's childhood friend, and my household comes before my personal preferences. Being able to wrack the brains of the man who single-handedly created the Evil Piece system is far too valuable to ignore."

"That so? I appreciate it, Rias."

Rias smiled at him, and for a while all was quiet save the soft patter of their shoes.

Eventually their run had lead them towards a park bench, said park mostly empty in the early morning.

Rias brought herself to a halt and sat down, beckoning Yuuji to do the same.

Yuuji said nothing, waiting for the crimson-haired girl to gather her thoughts.

"Do you remember the conversation we had with Akeno?"

Yuuji raised an eyebrow.

"Y-you know, before the fight?"

"You mean the one where I agreed to take you out on a date?"

Rias colored slightly, but nodded in confirmation

"I-I don't want to push. Akeno needs you now, more than ever, and I don't want to take away from that. We should forget that conversation ever happened."

She spoke with an awful lot of conviction and authority for someone who wouldn't look him in the eyes.

Yuuji took his time, gathering his thoughts as best he could.

"If that's what you want, then I'll heed your wishes."

Rias smiled, an awkward expression for one looking so downtrodden.

"Yes… That would be for the best, I-"

"But since that isn't actually what you want, I'm going to go ahead and ignore that."

Rias blanched, looking away from him.

"I-I… no, I think this is for the b-best-"

Yuuji cut her off again.

"Watch out."

Rias whipped her head in his direction, eyes scanning for the source of the warning.

Which was when Yuuji gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Yuuji smirked as the shocked girl slowly turned redder, and redder, slowly lifting trembling fingers up to her lips.

Without a word, he rose from his seat and turned to face the girl.

The furiously blushing Rias slowly looked up at him.

Yuuji's smirk widened.

"T-that's not fair… I spend all night working up my resolve and then you give me my first k-k-kiss like that…"

The flushed Rias murmured, shooting an accusing glare at Yuuji that lacked any heat.

"Sure did. Now…"

Yuuji slowly began to back away from her, smirking all the while.

" _What are you going to do about it, Rias?"_

Before she could even consider the challenge, Yuuji spun on his heel and took off.

Rias gaped at his retreating form for several seconds before springing from her seat.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D KISS ME AND RUN AWAY LIKE THAT! GET BACK HERE YUUJI!"

Yuuji, of course, didn't listen.

He just threw a wink over his shoulder... at the smiling girl who pursued him.

* * *

"Akeno, hide me. Buchou is angry and I'm scared."

Akeno grinned at the monotone plea, beckoning Yuuji to sit down on the side from her closest the door, and pulling him down close to bury his face up against her breasts.

Rias, panting hard from chasing Yuuji all the way home, came barreling through the door a moment later, skidding to a halt and placing her hands on her hips.

Yuuji tilted his head up slightly to look at her as Rias tapped her foot, a very much fake scowl on her face.

"So, mister, what do you have to say for yourself?

"Akeno-san, Akeno-san, Buchou's being scary, help your poor underclassman."

"Ara ara, is Buchou bullying our poor Yuuji-kun? Do you want me to spank her?"

Yuuji sat upright, curiously regarding the woman with her arms around his shoulders.

"Is she into that sort of thing?"

"Not yet, but we're working on it~."

"I see."

"I can hear you, you know."

At Rias' words, Yuuji and Akeno looked each other dead in the eye and nodded, before Yuuji spoke for them both.

"That's reassuring. Hearing loss is becoming a very real problem among our generation."

"Is it now?"

"According to the study I read, anyways."

Akeno's only interjection was to giggle.

Rias lifted an eyebrow and stared at her friend for a moment before giving in, and joining in the laughter.

Akeno turned her head to Yuuji as the laughter died down.

"So, figured out when you're taking Buchou out on a date?"

Yuuji shook his head as Rias lost her smile.

Akeno looked at her in surprise.

"Wasn't that why you went on a run with him?"

Rias squirmed a bit and ducked her head.

"Not… exactly."

"Yeah, I was having too much fun teasing her to have any serious conversations. How does Sunday sound, by the way?"

"S-Sunday?"

Yuuji gave Akeno a meaningful look as Rias stuttered.

"That sounds perfect, your schedule is free and we can use tomorrow to pick out your outfit!"

Akeno nodded firmly, as if everything was already decided.

"I… that is…"

"Rias."

Akeno cut her off sternly.

"Y-yes?"

Came the meek reply.

"We both know how excited you were that Yuuji-kun agreed to take you out on a date, now stop being silly."

Rias blinked once before glaring at her.

"Akeno…"

"Nope. You've spent the whole week fussing over us, go take a break before you collapse. We'll be just fine without you for one day, and you'll be all the happier for it."

Rias looked like she wanted to say something more, but instead she just sighed and gave up.

"Okay, okay. Thank you. Both of you."

Rias smiled warmly at the two of them, before tugging at the neckline of her tracksuit.

"I'm going to go take a shower, see you two in a little bit."

"Mhm."

"Sure."

They watched her go, and when she was out of sight, Akeno let out a long sigh and snuggled up against Yuuji, leaning her head up against his shoulder.

"That was more work than I thought it would be. Good job though Yuuji, I haven't seen her smile like that since you beat Riser."

"Yeah. Guess I have plans to make."

"Speaking of plans, could you keep the half-day free?"

"I don't mind."

"Great. I have something I… well, I'll tell you later, okay?"

Yuuji remained silent, eyes narrowing as he wondered why Akeno sounded so tired all of a sudden.

* * *

"Ah, hello, Yuuji-sama. I didn't expect anyone else to be up here."

"Hey there, Kala. Came to get some fresh air?"

A nod from the faintly smiling beauty.

"Indeed, but I have no wish to intrude?"

"I wouldn't mind the company, actually."

"I see. Pardon me then."

The door swung shut as Kalawarner closed the door, walking softly across the rooftop to join Yuuji, as he leaned against the railing that hemmed it in.

The rooftop was relatively bare, having clotheslines for hanging laundry on one end, but mostly left open to allow take-off by anyone feeling the urge to stretch their wings at night.

Yuuji had made his way up there after his talk with Rias and Akeno, wanting to be alone with his thoughts for a bit.

Even then, though, Kalawarner was a welcome presence.

She bore with her an air of serenity that never failed to put him at ease, which, he imagined, was part of the reason she made such a good teacher.

Kalawarner put her arms down on the railing and leaned forward with a soft hum, the simple sweater dress she wore clinging to her figure, while still allowing an air of subdued elegance.

They remained in a comfortable silence for some time, hair swaying in the faint spring breeze.

"Are you beginning to adjust to the new arm, Yuuji-sama?"

Kalawarner began slowly, not turning her head, but watching the younger man out of the corner of her eye.

"Slowly, yeah. Felt a bit strange having one arm weigh a couple pounds more, but my sense of equilibrium has more or less returned."

They both knew that wasn't what she was really asking, but she accepted the answer for what it was with a small nod, having no wish to push at a time like this.

Rather, she squirmed a bit in place, recalling the _other_ thing that had been on her mind lately.

"About the other day… when I…"

Yuuji remained silent, frowning softly as he thought about what she might be trying to-

"Oh, you mean when you kissed me?"

Kalawarner's cheeks colored faintly as she nodded.

"Sorry, I almost forgot about about that."

Her mouth fell open, and then immediately snapped shut as the older woman gave a soft huff, cheeks puffing out slightly.

"A bit more delicacy would be appreciated, Yuuji-sama. I am still a woman, after all."

"Sorry."

Yuuji slowly turned his head to the quietly pouting woman and smirked.

"Guess you'll have to give me a reminder some time."

Kalawarner flushed, but her smile returned nonetheless.

"Hmm, I suppose I must."

A teasing glimmer in her eyes, the gorgeous woman tapped one slender finger against her chin as if in deep thought.

"But I believe I shall be patient, just a little while longer. After all, there are quite a few sorting out their feelings, and I'm beginning to think that a nudge or two might be in order. I imagine that you're going to find yourself quite sought after in the next few months, Yuuji-sama."

"That so?"

"It is. Never you fear though."

In an uncharacteristically bold display, Kalawarner leaned over to whisper huskily in his ear, one long, slender finger tracing its way up his neck as she did so.

"As your teacher, I have every intention of offering a lesson or two you'll _never_ forget."

Before Yuuji could reply, Kalawarner swept away, her long hair flowing behind her in an azure trail.

"I do believe I've made my intentions clear enough, for now. Enjoy yourself, _Yuuji-kun_."

Yuuji turned his head back as the door opened and closed once more, smiling to himself.

"I think I will, Kala-san."

Next time, he'd take extra care to pay close, close attention.

* * *

"Has there been any sign of the Hakuryuukou?"

"No, but the young Ojou-sama has reported that Azazel became one of Kazami-san's clients."

"Azazel, huh? He's probably interested in Yuuji-kun's Sacred Gear, but I doubt he'll cause trouble with the peace summit on the horizon. As long as he doesn't get too mischievous, we can leave him alone for now."

"As you say, Sirzechs-sama. Are you planning to notify the young miss soon?"

"We'll be visiting for the open house soon, that should be a good time to let her know."

Grayfia gave a small nod in response.

"Going to come with us, Fia?"

The nickname was a clear sign that he was done speaking as Lucifer.

Now it was just plain old Zechs -though he'd had little success in getting her to call him that- her oldest friend, and the one who'd brought her into the Gremory family, despite the… complications that had arisen.

"I don't have anything pressing for that day, so I suppose I can escort you, as the Queen of your peerage."

Sirzechs smiled and took the excuse for what it was.

"I'm sure Ria-tan will be pleased. Once she gets past her embarrassment, of course."

"I seem to recall that _you're_ the one who embarrasses her. I'm the one she comes to for advice when Akeno is just as lost as she is on womanly matters."

Sirzechs slumped back in his seat, with one hand pressed dramatically to his forehead.

"Ah, if only I'd been born a girl."

He fake (sort of) lamented.

"If only. I'll take my leave for now, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, have a good night, Fia."

"You as well."

Grayfia slipped out of Sirzechs office, and quietly close the door behind her.

Parent day, was it?

It would be nice to visit Rias and the others under less… dire circumstances.

She'd killed a Cadre, and almost killed a Dragon, the last time they'd met.

Little time for pleasantries there.

 _-She had just held out her hand to form a seal, and stop the bleeding, when the fountain of blood from Yuuji's arm abruptly stopped._

 _Beside her, Rias made a sharp inhale of breath, as something new began to sprout from the ruins of her Pawn's right arm._

 _They looked like wires._

 _Hundreds, thousands of thin metal tendrils that coiled in the air and constricted around each other, becoming thicker and thicker as they wove and melded themselves into-_

" _Bones?"_

 _The disbelieving voice of Rias slipped out as they watched iron weave itself into an eerie facsimile of a human skeleton._

 _From there the wires branched out, lining and surrounding the bones as if mimicking veins and tendons._

 _Sturdy iron plates slowly grew into place, sheathing the startlingly organic appearance of the inner workings._

 _However, Grayfia was no longer watching._

 _Her eyes were on the shadow that had fallen over them._

" _Oi, was killing him really necessary? I'm sure the 'Strongest Queen' could have taken him prisoner if she really wanted, Kokabiel wasn't_ _ **that**_ _amazing."_

 _Floating soundlessly in the air above was a figure clad in armor of the purest white, with blue accents._

 _A horned helmet with glowing eyes of pale gold, clawed gauntlets and greaves, and metallic wings, each with eight 'feathers' of shimmering blue light._

 _The armor of the dragon._

 _The armor of-_

" _Albion. Has the Hakuryuukou come to gather the remains?"_

" _You didn't answer my question."_

" _I have little patience for you, Dragon. Kokabiel trespassed upon our territory in order to murder our children, you're lucky there's enough left for you to recognize."_

 _The armored figure shrugged._

" _Well, Azazel only told me to take him alive if I had the chance, so I can't say I care."_

 _He turned his head, glowing eyes falling to rest on the only two Fallen left alive._

 _Raynare cowered behind Kalawarner, who stood tall despite the shaking of her knees._

" _Strays, huh. Should probably deal with them while I'm here, I suppose. Oh, but don't worry, I'll make things quick."_

 _A shimmer caught his attention, and the White Dragon directed his gaze upwards._

 _The morning skies were filled with an ocean of stars._

 _Stars made of jagged, narrow ice, all pointed in one singular direction._

" _Was I not clear enough?_ _ **I have no time for your games, Dragon.**_ "

 _Crimson eyes burned holes into the armor as Grayfia Lucifuge stood with one hand raised above her head._

 _Beside her, Asia's surprised shriek was lost behind the mighty gale that swept through the school, as the Underworld's Strongest Queen bared her fangs._

" _You'll kill the people you're trying to protect with an attack of that scale."_

 _The White One's voice remained calm, his arms crossed in front of him._

" _Are you so foolish as to think I'd threaten you with something I couldn't actually use?"_

" _No, I suppose you're above that. I'll leave them be. Though I am a bit curious, is that boy down there the Soldier I've been hearing so much about? I wanted to meet that one."_

 _The stars doubled in number._

 _As they did, a ragged, bloody shape was sent unceremoniously hurtling through the air, to be caught by the Hakuryuukou in a single hand._

 _The ruins of a once proud Cadre weeped a crimson rain upon the earth._

" _You have what you came for, Dragon. Do not overstay your welcome."_

 _The ice began to inch forward._

" _I am a bit tempted to find out what would happen if I did, but I'm on official business so I'll take my leave. Another time, perhaps."_

 _Grayfia glared at the armored figure as it ascended further into the air and then departed in a powerful gust of wind._

 _After several tense seconds, those watching the exchange slumped in their places, breathing shaky sighs of relief._

 _Grayfia turned her gaze away from the skies without a second thought._

 _She had far more important tasks to accomplish._

"Nyaa~. Fia's even more serious than normal. You'll get wrinkles if you scowl like that~."

Crimson eyes snapped up to burn holes into the speaker, and the speaker, a black, two-tailed cat lounging on the window sill, shrank back a little as her fur stood on end.

"That name will never pass between your lips again."

"Alright, alright, I was just joking~."

The teasing tone remained, but she couldn't quite keep the tremor out of her voice, tails swishing nervously behind her.

As she spoke, the silhouette shifted, and in place of the cat was a young woman with furry black ears, two tails and golden eyes.

The loose black yukata she wore exposed most of her full chest and slender white legs, one of them tapping a wooden sandal softly against the wall.

"Did you wander from your room just to eavesdrop, or is there something I can help you with, Kuroka-san?"

The girl in question didn't seem embarrassed to be called out, and flashed Grayfia a teasing grin.

"Nyaa, us cats are mostly nocturnal, just enjoying the moonlight a little."

The grin fell away, replaced by a bashful demeanor that couldn't quite meet Grayfia's gaze.

"I did hear though… class visits, huh?"

Kuroka's voice dropped in volume as she spoke, talking to herself more than anything.

"Listen, I… I know I don't have any right to ask this but…"

"You'll need to dress a little more appropriately."

"Yeah, I shouldn't have-"

Bright golden eyes blinked in disbelief.

"Huh?"

"Your preferred attire is unsuitable for visiting a school full of hormonal teenagers, even if the men belong to a clear minority."

"W-what do you mean?"

Grayfia arched her brow.

"Were you not planning to attend the class visits, Kuroka-san?"

Still looking a little dumbstruck, Kuroka shook her head rapidly.

"N-no! It's just I didn't think y-you'd… I mean I'm a prisoner and-"

"And you will be in the company of the Gremory patriarch, Lucifer himself, and his Queen. That's _without_ factoring in that Serafall Leviathan plans to attend. I do not believe anyone can accuse us of leaving you 'inadequately guarded'."

Kuroka blinked once more, and this time, her habitual, flirtatious smirk was replaced by a genuine, grateful smile.

"Yeah, when you put it like that it makes sense, nyaa."

She let out a small sigh as her ears flicked and her tails thrashed about behind her, betraying her inner turmoil.

"Yeah, thank you Grayfia-san. Really."

The Gremory maid shook her head slowly, though not without allowing herself a tiny smile.

"I'm not the one you should be thanking. Sirzechs-sama positively hates the idea of siblings being separated, and this is the first excuse he's had to make steps towards rectifying that."

"That so? Eh, I can see why."

"Indeed."

One might wonder why an SS-Class Stray Devil was roaming the halls of the Gremory estate.

Kuroka was not roaming freely however, she was a prisoner.

Invisible to the naked eye, the seal on her left leg would rob her of the limb if she left the property without explicit permission.

That was the story, anyways.

In truth, the seal would inflict her with symptoms similar to a well-earned hangover, more of a mild punishment than a serious determent.

After all, Kuroka's real reason for being 'imprisoned' on the Gremory estate was for her own protection.

A thank you of sorts, for quite possibly being one of the largest contributors in the fight against Kokabiel.

Grayfia would never admit it to the girl, but she had been immensely proud of the fast-talking Rias had used to sell _that_ little claim.

* * *

They had just finished patching everyone up and rendering them fit for transport, the Hakuryuukou having just departed with the body of Kokabiel.

Grayfia, in consideration for the exhaustion of those present, had requested that Rias allow her to handle the transport, the Gremory heiress just having finished a hasty meeting with Sona and her peerage.

A flash of swirling crimson light deposited Grayfia and her passengers in the common room of the dormitory, her intent being to aid in gathering whatever was needed before she brought them to the Gremory hospital.

With no immediate danger to any of their well-being, she could afford to make the stop first, rather than do it afterwards.

The location she popped into allowed her a perfect view of the modern-designed, spacious and open kitchen.

Also, the SS-Class Stray Devil currently digging through the refrigerator.

Kuroka's tails stood straight up in the air as she slowly turned her wide golden eyes towards the Ultimate-class Devil who'd just appeared by the front door.

Grayfia calmly turned her gaze towards a guiltily squirming Rias.

"If you would be so kind, Ojou-sama?"

Rias subconsciously tried to make herself smaller, knowing full well that the polite request was actually a command, whose refusal would be unwise in the extreme.

Kuroka had yet to move, barring the slight trembling of her legs.

"W-well, you see Grayfia, there's a very good explanation for this…"

"I have no doubts, Ojou-sama."

There had better be, Rias, said the crimson eyes stabbing holes through the poor girls skull.

"Y-you see, she… well she was injured and…"

Rias closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before rising to her full height with barely a quiver.

"Kuroka-san was wounded acting on our behalf, and I would be a poor excuse for a Gremory if I did not see to it that her wounds were at least tended to?"

An elegant brow arched in silent query, Grayfia deciding to be merciful and ignore the fact that the one who seemed most surprised by Rias' words was Kuroka.

"Yes, Kuroka-san has only just regained consciousness, but the injuries that nearly claimed her life were sustained by battling Kokabiel before our encounter with him."

Rias nodded knowingly, getting into the flow of her own story at last, while Grayfia smiled inwardly.

"Is that so?"

Grayfia turned her gaze to Kuroka, daring her to disagree.

The dare was not taken as the Nekoshou nodded frantically.

"Indeed, while he was certainly a horrifying foe to face, he didn't display even a fraction of the power I would have expected from a foe of that magnitude. Truthfully, he hardly used any magic at all."

Kuroka blinked in shock as Rias directed her gaze to her as well.

"I wasn't able to ask, but how badly did you manage to wound Kokabiel to put him in such a state?"

Kuroka straightened and turned to face those gathered.

"I tore half his wings off. Even a Cadre has trouble recovering from that."

Came the quiet admittance.

No one needed to guess _why_ she'd fought Kokabiel, as her gaze kept darting towards Koneko.

The air of near frantic concern and the barely restrained urge to rush to her side painted a clear enough picture.

The fact that Grayfia would have killed her on the spot for any sudden movements certainly must have helped her restraint.

"Things would have been far, far worse had you not acted. On behalf of myself and my household, you have my deepest gratitude."

The Nekoshou blinked in shock as Rias bowed her head.

"I… you… you're welcome."

"I believe I understand the situation now. I will be just a moment."

A silvery blue communication circle sprung to live on the right side of Grayfia's head, just as a faint ripple cut her off from her surroundings, muting the conversation she held in its entirety.

The ripple distorted the air, so Kuroka couldn't even exercise her talents in lip reading.

Whatever conversation Grayfia engaged in took less than a minute.

When the magic faded, Grayfia's blood-red gaze fell upon Kuroka once more.

"I'll need you to come with me, Kuroka-san. You're to be held at the Gremory estate until further notice."

Kuroka let out a bitter little huff.

"Prisoner, huh? Well, not like I can get away from you anyways, nyaa."

"Indeed, coming quietly is it your best interest. Sirzechs wished to make it clear that your treatment will be determined solely by your behaviour."

Kuroka wasn't sure she'd heard that right.

A high profile Stray like her had no chance of surviving for any length of time if her cunning didn't at least match her power.

So she could read between the lines.

What Grayfia had actually said was 'cause no trouble, and there will be no trouble'.

In other words, they were offering her… safety?

No, that couldn't be-

As if sensing her doubts, Grayfia offered a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.

This… might be the best chance she'd ever get.

Shirone would visit the Gremory estate on occasion.

When was the last time she'd been able to see her sister, without having to spy on her from the shadows?

"Say no more, Maid-san."

Kuroka held up her hands, palms up and wrists pressed together.

A small wave of Grayfia's hand, and glowing seals bound her hands together.

With one hand, the Gremory maid summoned a transportation circle under Kuroka's feet.

The other summoned one beneath Rias and her group.

She offered a polite bow to the young lady.

"They are ready to receive you at the Gremory facilities, Ojou-sama. It is necessary for me to escort Kuroka-san, so this is where we must part ways."

Rias, looking a little bewildered still, gave a dazed nod, and then shook her head as if to clear it.

Then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around the taller woman, leaning in to whisper fiercely in Grayfia's ear.

"I never did say it, did I? Thank you for saving us, Ane-sama. Thank you so much."

Grayfia slowly, gently returned the embrace.

"You're most welcome, my little Imouto."

Kuroka's ears twitched, perhaps the only one in the room with hearing sensitive enough to pick up the whispered conversation.

Save for one other.

The spike of pain in her chest was more from a long-felt sorrow than jealousy.

How she wished her own sister would look at her that way.

"Shirone…"

The sad whisper caused her little sister to flinch slightly, but Koneko didn't quite lift her head.

Mercifully, the Gremory circle whisked her far, far from the pain that would only deepen if she stayed.

Now here she was, a 'prisoner' -guest- of the Gremory's, and she would finally have a chance to see her precious Shirone, and maybe, just maybe, speak with her face to face.

Now, she just needed to decide if she deserved it.

She hadn't even noticed that Grayfia had long since left her to her thoughts.

* * *

"I have somewhere I'd like to show you, if you don't mind?"

"Sure, after class?"

"Please."

Today was Saturday, and thus only a half day.

Yuuji spent most of that time pondering Akeno's request.

Wondering what about it had made her so nervous.

The school day passed by in a blur, and before he knew it he was following Akeno's directions as he pushed her chair along.

Rias had watched them go their separate ways with a faint tinge of concern, which only served to puzzle Yuuji further.

Soon enough, they found themselves at the traditional red gates -torii- leading up a long stone staircase to what Yuuji could only assume was a Shinto shrine.

"Are we going to be okay in there?"

Akeno gave a small nod.

"Rias made a deal after the old caretaker passed away with no successor. This was where I lived before the dorm was built, but I still make weekly visits to keep it maintained."

"I see."

It made sense, he supposed. That shrine maiden outfit she sometimes wore had always seemed to carry a certain nostalgia with it.

She was too comfortable in it for the outfit not to have any meaning.

… There were a lot of stairs though.

"Lend me your arm, Yuuji? I think I'll be okay if you support me."

"Sure, Akeno."

Akeno rose slowly, carefully from her wheelchair, but as she'd said, her legs seemed to be bearing her weight just fine for now.

Yuuji folded up the chair, slinging it under his right arm while offering Akeno his left.

The black-haired beauty wrapped her arm snuggly around his, pressing it up against her breast as she leaned into him.

Fortunately, they made it up the stairway without incident, and soon found themselves in the modestly sized shrine, sipping tea in the small tea ceremony room off to one side.

"How is it?"

"Wonderful, as always."

"Ufufu, hearing Yuuji-kun use words like that makes my delicate maiden's heart go 'pitter-patter'."

"I believe every bit of that except the 'maiden' claim, as I happen to be an eye-witness to contrary evidence."

"Mmm~ but Yuuji-kun didn't witness with just his _eyes_ , now did he?"

"No, I suppose he didn't."

Akeno giggled once again before raising her cup to her lips once more.

Yuuji let them both savor the tea and the company for a while longer before he decided to move things along.

"Not that I'm not happy to be invited to your house, but what's the occasion?"

Akeno offered a teasing smile.

"Hmm, does there need to be one?"

"No, but there is."

This time, Akeno's soft laughter held a tired edge to it.

"Nothing gets past you, does it Yuuji?"

"I try to pay attention to the people I care about."

"Right, that's just like you, isn't it?"

So why did those words seem painful for you to hear?

What the hell is going on, Akeno?

Yuuji bit back the words he wanted to say, eyes narrowing slightly.

"I've… I've been keeping secrets from you, Yuuji."

As she spoke, Akeno gently placed her cup down and took a deep, slow breath.

"I guess I never told you about them, did I?"

"Them?"

"My parents. My mother was a shrine maiden, and one day, she found a leader of the Fallen Angels, Baraquiel, passed out from his wounds. That man would become my father."

Akeno watched Yuuji closely as she spoke, gauging his reaction carefully.

Yuuji's face remained its blank, impassive mask, and so Akeno soldiered on.

"She nursed him back to health, and she must have done her job well, because the Fallen Angel fell deeply in love with the human, and she with him. It didn't take long for their daughter, for me, to follow. And so a girl with the blood of both human and Fallen Angel was born."

Akeno rose to her feet, allowing her white haori to fall open and expose her pale back as she turned away.

What sprouted from her back were wings.

... While one was the leathery pinion he was accustomed to, the other was adorned by midnight feathers.

With a bitter smile, Akeno roughly caressed the feathers, almost as if preparing to tear them away.

"It was these filthy crow feathers that lead the Himejima family to our doorstep. They killed her in an attempt to reach the monster she'd had the misfortune to give birth to, and when they came for us, that _creature_ was nowhere to be found."

Akeno's bitter chuckle drowned out the dull groan of iron grinding against iron.

"When Rias found me, I leapt at the chance to forsake my heritage, and be rid of these wings forever. Instead, what was born was a hideous mismatch between two sets of wings, a truly fitting adornment for the filth in my veins."

Belatedly, she turned her head back to face him.

"I've been so, so scared to show you this, this sign of my shame."

"I don't care, Akeno. Everyone has secrets, and the shape of your wings never mattered to me."

Akeno's smile was weighed down by the tired, melancholy air that hung heavily around her.

"But you already knew, that... didn't you?"

Akeno went rigid.

"So why don't you tell me what's actually bothering you?"

Akeno closed her eyes and let out a long, shaky exhale.

Her next words were little more than a tentative whisper.

"Raynare, Kalawarner. They're… good people, aren't they? In spite of what they've done?"

"Yeah, they've done some terrible things, but you only have to look at how deep their scars run to know how much their past haunts them. Bad people don't feel that kind of guilt."

"Yeah, I thought you'd say something like that. I'm…"

Her voice dropped too low for him to hear, until she repeated herself.

"I'm not like them. I'm like _him_."

Dark eyes narrowed into slits, the warning signs unheeded as the woman carried on, too preoccupied to notice anything else.

"He was enjoying himself, you know. He broke us, he broke _me_ like some cheap discarded doll, and all I could think about was how much _fun_ he was having."

Akeno shivered, and Yuuji knew there was more than one meaning behind it.

"It made perfect sense to me, it was all so wrong, and horrible, but it was all so _right._ "

A wild laugh slipped free from Akeno's lips.

When she whirled on him, her eyes were alight with dreadful excitement, and her smile so wide, it looked like it was stretching her open.

"Don't you see!? We're no different! I can't stand a clean win! I can't stand an easy kill! I want to see them writhe, I want to see them crack, and burn, and break, and _**scream**_! I love it more than anything, nothing gets me going more than that! We just fought a monster, Yuuji, and that monster could have been me and _nothing_ would have changed!"

Akeno giggled again, breathing hard as that awful, tragic smile tugged at her cheeks.

"It's okay Yuuji, you don't have to say a word! I just wanted you to know, I just wanted you to know what kind of filth you've been sharing your bed with-"

Akeno let out a strangled scream as her body convulsed, legs that no longer knew how to support her giving way beneath her.

Akeno caught herself with her hands, head bowed as her slender frame shook.

Her voice was drowned out by the sound of tearing paper as the thin sliding door, leading to the porch, gave way before the heavy wooden table flipped through it.

Before she knew what was happening, a rough hand had slammed her on her back, blasting the breath from her lungs as an iron limb pierced the tatami beside her head.

Frozen in shock, Akeno could only gaze in terror into the seething pits of darkness that swallowed the light above.

"That's enough, Akeno." The beast pinning her to the floor hissed in her face, white teeth bared and sharp.

"Y-Yuuji?"

 _ **"Shut up and listen."**_

Akeno sucked in her breath, trembling and bewildered.

She'd never been so frightened of Yuuji in her life.

And it hurt... it hurt more than anything.

The next words to slip from between the beast's jaws were soft and calm, and the spell was broken as Yuuji gazed down at her.

"Monsters don't cry, Akeno."

"H-huh? What do you… I'm not… am I?"

Quivering hands reached slowly up to a beautiful face marred by silvery trails, finally finding the tears that had pushed Yuuji over the edge.

He hadn't really seen the smile.

He hadn't really heard the laughter.

All he'd seen was the anguish.

All he'd heard were the desperate cries of a woman who couldn't keep her pain hidden any longer.

"I'm… I… it hurts, why does it hurt? Why does it hurt so much?"

Yuuji tore his buried hand free of the floor, and gathered the shaking girl into his arms, holding her close, arms wrapped beneath the wings she hadn't even thought to conceal once more.

"You wouldn't be hurting if you were even half as bad as you seem to think."

Her arms that had hung loosely slowly clawed their way up his back.

"B-but I… I'm so…"

"I accept."

"... A-accept?"

"All of you. Whatever secrets you hold, whatever scars you hide, whatever darkness, whatever evil you see in the mirror. Just like the warmth, the smiles, the kindness you've given me, I accept."

"You'll… accept it? Accept me? Even if I'm broken? Even if these wings… even if...?"

"Even then."

"Oh…. this…"

Akeno's body went limp, with the exception of the desperate grip of her hands.

Yuuji pulled them up into a sitting position as a great, shuddering sob wracked the fragile body in his arms.

That sob was followed by another, and another, until the shrine rang with wailing cries of its master.

Yuuji held her tight as the storm within her heart tore free for all the world to see.

* * *

What seemed like a lifetime later, Akeno had cried herself hoarse, panting heavily as she slumped bonelessly against him.

"I.. I think I'm okay now. Sorry you had to see that."

Akeno mumbled into his neck, her head leaning heavily on Yuuji's shoulder.

"Hmm, no, I don't think so."

Akeno lifted her head off his shoulder to meet his eyes, her puzzlement clear.

"Yuuji? What do you mean?"

" I seem to recall someone saying that the girl I love was filthy and dirty. As a man, there's some things I just can't let go. So I think the one who had the guts to insult my girlfriend deserves a little _discipline_."

This time, Akeno's shivers were purely in delight and anticipation.

They didn't prepare her in the slightest for the electric current that jolted through her, more potent than any lightning she could wield.

A strong, calloused hand had just pressed its fingers into the curve where wing met shoulder, and then ran itself none-too gently through her feathers.

No one _else_ had _ever_ stroked her feathers like that.

Truthfully, she hadn't even touched her own feathers in years.

If it always felt this good, then it was truly, truly a waste.

"Y-Yuuji… that… Ah~!"

Her cheeks were burning and words failed her as a low moan slipped out.

Nothing existed but the hand running through her feathers, again and again without mercy.

"T-this… why does it feel so- Oh~."

A dark, wicked voice drifted into her ear like poison, even as the second hand forced her head to tilt towards the ceiling with a sharp tug on her ponytail.

"Hideous, filthy, dirty, was it? Harsh words…"

Akeno shuddered once more.

" _Deserve harsh punishment."_

Sharp teeth clamped down on the sweet spot where neck meets shoulder and everything went white.

The cries that tore through the shrine _this_ time were a much, much sweeter sound.

* * *

She couldn't take it anymore.

The Akeno that shared her plan with Rias had been so nervous she almost couldn't stand it.

They had parted ways almost four hours ago, and she hadn't heard anything from them.

It was too much for Rias to bear.

Her beloved sister in all but blood had been practically falling apart at the seams.

Wounded so deeply that only that fateful day when she'd found a half-dead Fallen Angel, clawing her way through the forest muck, could possibly compare.

She'd done the best she could, and nothing had helped.

She couldn't take it anymore.

Even if Akeno had all but begged for privacy, there was only so much Rias' heart could handle.

She found herself tramping up the stone stairway before she even knew what was happening.

Her body turned that walk into a headlong sprint when Akeno's scream tore the air, light-years before her mind could register that that scream hadn't carried an ounce of pain.

The hole in the wall only spurred her on faster.

The wall ripped away, and bounced across the yard, as Rias screamed out their names.

The first thing she saw was a flash of white, and her desperate eyes locked onto a pair of shining violet.

Akeno, grinning ear to ear as she beamed at her King, seated on the lap of an impassive Yuuji with a curious tilt to his head.

"Akeno! Yuuji! You're okay! I heard you scream… I… I thought…"

Rias trailed off as she realized the only thing preserving their modesty was Akeno's white haori, and that both of them were covered by a thin sheen of sweat, Akeno's breathing coming in rough pants.

Half of it, to be precise. She didn't want to know why the other halfway was _through_ the wall behind them.

"Oh, hello Buchou, what brings you here?"

Akeno's cheerful greeting was accompanied by a cheerful giggle.

"I… nevermind."

Rias took a deep breath and relaxed, before meeting Akeno's gaze seriously.

"Are you okay, Akeno?"

If that was even possible her Queens smile widened, her eyes shimmering fondly.

"Never better Rias, never- eep!"

Akeno let out a squeak as Yuuji shifted slightly, the raven-haired beauty's cheeks coloring faintly.

"Akeno?"

"Oh don't mind me, RiAS!"

Yuuji had shifted his weight again, smirking slightly as Akeno's blush deepened.

Rias covered her face with one hand.

"Yuuji."

"Yes, Buchou?"

His polite, dutiful inquiry was very much at odds with that tiny, fiendish smirk.

"Please tell me you're not inside Akeno right now."

"I won't tell you I'm inside Akeno right now."

"..."

"..."

"Yuuji, are you inside Akeno right now?"

"Yes, yes, I am."

Rias slumped.

"I'd like my concern back please... take your time, and try not to break anything else, I'll send the repair crew in tomorrow."

She turned away as she spoke, waving tiredly as she beat a dignified and certainly not hasty retreat.

"Yes, Buchou."

"Ufufu~."

Rias' heavy steps lead her slowly down the stone steps.

She couldn't remember the last time Akeno had glowed with such happiness.

She was truly, truly happy for her, and would have cheerfully given anything, even her life to see it preserved.

Yet, was it so wrong of her to still wish for just a little bit of that happiness for herself?

As was often the case, no answer presented itself.

* * *

 **Well, would you look at that, almost everyone is fine-ish sort of. Walk it off guys, walk it off.**

 **Busy little chapter, was afraid it would end up a little dull, but I think I did a fair job of avoiding that.**

 **As a general sort of update, my upload schedule, going forward, will be about a chapter a month for each of the two stories I'm writing. I'll try to update you guys if any delays come up, though I'm not entirely sure how. Might just edit it into the most recent chapter.**

 **Though, despite what I just said, this story will probably have another chapter posted this month, since this chapter is being posted on the first of the month.**

 **Hope you enjoy, and feel free to share your thoughts.**


	13. Seeking Something Real

**I don't know if I'm the kind of writer to warn his readers when there's a lemon in the chapter, but if I was, this would be one of those times.**

 **Honestly though, there's a lot of fluff and sexy bits up ahead.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

The night after Akeno confessed her heritage to Yuuji, she didn't dream at all.

The jubilant, ear to ear smile suggested that she'd gone to sleep too satisfied, or perhaps too exhausted to do anything else.

Likely a bit of both.

She had told him who she was, precisely the kind of monster she'd always been, and he'd accepted it.

He'd accepted _her_.

The dark little part of her had wanted to test it, test him to see if he really meant it, though, a much larger part of her had been firm in the knowledge that he would accept that too.

So in the end, she'd let go, completely and fully for perhaps the first time. She'd shown him just how much that had meant, just how far she'd fallen for him.

Then, she'd shown him how depraved and twisted her passions could be.

He'd accepted that too.

Then, he'd turned around and _one-upped_ her.

The end result was a shrine that looked like a pair of hurricanes had gone to war within its walls.

Not a single door left intact, no wall left undented, and at least one room was only _mostly_ covered by ceiling.

Oh, and the floor in at least one location had proven to be far weaker than Akeno's hip bones, thus she had a different (better) excuse for any walking trouble she might have in the morning.

There were scorch marks that reeked of ozone, there were dull grey ropes and chains and other things lying here or there, some still wet, and finding their clothing would require an expedition team at least.

The fluid covering wall, ceiling, floor, and, well, the pair of lovers, for the most part, wasn't blood.

Yes, it would be accurate to say the raven-haired beauty, lying in a tangled heap with her lover, had had a very, _very_ good night.

In the end, they'd only just managed to remain in the _building_ when they'd collapsed, one of Yuuji's, and both of Akeno's legs- both coiled around Yuuji's one- having escaped the confines of the now door-less meeting room they were curled up in to rest on the porch.

So the happily exhausted Akeno didn't dream at all.

Yuuji was a different matter.

* * *

 _Usually, when strangers appeared in his dreams, he could never quite make out their faces._

 _Tonight was no different._

 _Crowds of people, perhaps wandering aimlessly, perhaps moving with a destination on their mind, milled about in the featureless gloom._

 _Murmurs and whispers and jostling movement, weaving his way forward through bustling crowds felt and heard, but never quite seen._

 _Further and further he travelled, pushing towards…_

 _Nowhere at all, really._

 _Yuuji didn't know where he was going._

 _Frankly, he didn't really care, either._

 _He just wanted out of the crowd, away from this faceless mass that pressed against him heedlessly from every possible direction._

 _Out._

 _Out._

 _Out-_

 _With a suddenness that made his head spin, Yuuji found his wish granted._

 _He was alone._

 _Nothing but the vast darkness, and the lifeless gray that curled around his feet._

 _Yuuji wandered onwards through the mist, no longer certain if his newfound solitude was blessing or curse._

 _And that's when it loomed out of the gloom, stretching its way far out of sight, towards an unseen sky._

 _A once mighty tree whose colossal branches spread wide enough to hold the horizon, mist coiling about and concealing its roots._

 _The imagined image marred by how the bark and branches were the listless iron he was so familiar with._

 _As if the tree itself had been stained by the lifeless grey of the Arsenal Memoir._

 _The mist around the base of the tree receded, revealing brilliant colors that made Yuuji recoil as vivid golds and reds scraped at his eyes._

 _Pierced through, twisted and warped by the iron roots that had overtaken it, were the remnants of a massive, almost impossibly ornate throne._

 ** _No mortal being could have sat upon such a throne._**

 _The torn remnants of the lush, red velvet seat alone were large enough to seat the main building of Kuoh Academy._

 _Yuuji wasn't confident that all the gold in the world would be enough to replicate the throne._

 _And yet it lay broken, destroyed beyond repair by the still larger tree that had overtaken it._

 _Yuuji nearly fell to his knees as his vision lurched in nauseating fashion._

 _It was if he'd taken a step back, not by a few feet, but by miles in their hundreds._

 _For the first time, he could see the strange tree in its entirety._

 _See the only green and growing thing in this world of gloom._

 _Twisting around the uppermost trunk of the sad dead tree, like a verdant crown to accompany the throne below._

 _Rough textured leaves of warm green, edged with sharp spines in a way that almost reminded him of thorns._

 _Milky white berries like the eyes of a blind man._

 _Glistening even in the darkness, not with dew, but blood and rust, slowly dripping to the ground below, and running down the grey bark of the tree._

 ** _Drip, drip._**

 _He could feel it._

 _Dripping down his chest, the wetness causing a deep chill to-_

* * *

Yuuji's eyes opened to the rich wood of the shrine ceiling, and a strange chill blowing across the dampness of his chest, contrasting bizarrely with the wet, hot-

He lifted himself up onto his elbows, to find a still very much naked Akeno dragging her tongue across his bare chest.

Their eyes met, Akeno's tongue frozen in its place.

As his eyebrow rose, she retracted her tongue and scowled.

"Go back to sleep, Yuuji."

Yuuji remained silent.

Akeno let out an irritated huff.

"You never wake up after me, do you know how difficult the timing is?"

"Timing?"

Now he was honestly curious.

Akeno nodded slowly, as if she couldn't quite believe he was asking the obvious.

"Timing. How am I supposed to wake you up with morning service if you always wake up first?"

"... And you're licking my chest because…?"

The prim and proper demeanor she tried to convey was firmly thwarted by the flush of her cheeks, among other things.

"Well _obviously_ , we made quite a mess, so I was being a dutiful lover and cleaning up as I went. I would have made it down far enough in another minute or two, but you just _had_ to wake up."

"It's chilly."

Akeno didn't say anything, glaring at him once again like he did something wrong.

One piece of curiosity satisfied, Yuuji let his gaze drift around the room.

The lower half of their bodies were lying on the porch, the reason they were exposed to the open air likely being one of several shogi lying in the courtyard in various states of ruin.

The walls were… messy.

He'd just go with messy if asked, he decided.

Hopefully Rias didn't inspect the property before the repair crew, whom he didn't envy at all, showed up and got their work well underway.

Or, maybe he or Akeno should just burn the shrine to the ground before anyone else showed up, allowing for a fresh start.

Potential blasphemy shouldn't be a concern for a Devil, right?

Past the scent of blood, and sweat, and semen, was the sharp tang of ozone, Yuuji dimly remembering that at some point a somewhat overstimulated Akeno had loudly, passionately proclaimed that lightning made everything better, and then set out to prove it.

... Which explained the tingling.

He was also pretty sure that the various scratches across his back had clotted to the ground, and at least half of the aches in his body would defy medical science.

Among other things, Yuuji had discovered that yes, his metal arm _did_ have a vibrate function.

Just about any function he could want, really, if he was willing to experiment or Akeno gave him the pouty eyes.

The definition of 'weapon' had been thoroughly abused that night.

His prosthetic was feeling rather strange right now, being marginally more sensitive than any of its mundane counterparts, so he could tell that the inner workings seemed to have become a bit…

Clogged.

After a moment, Yuuji let his vision fall back to the warm violet orbs that glittered at him with a fond and playful light.

They nodded and spoke as one.

"Totally worth it."

Akeno giggled as Yuuji smirked at her, both drifting into silence after that and enjoying each others warmth.

"Yuuji, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"And… I love you.

Yuuji blinked once, and just let his answer slip out on its own, not quite sure what he'd hear.

"I love you as well, Akeno."

* * *

 _*Crack*_

 _With a low hiss, the can was popped open and the contents lifted to the woman's lips._

 _Sighing loudly in appreciation, she leaned her head back against the dull iron she leaned against, taking a drag from her cigarette as she stared up at the branches high above her._

 _A good thing he'd been too busy staring to actually explore around a bit more._

 _She didn't really know what she wanted to say to him yet anyways._

 _Another loud sigh, and she shook her head vigorously to shake the cobwebs out._

 _This failed in its attempted purpose, as the cobwebs were made of more alcohol than melancholy, but succeeded in whipping her long blue ponytail against her nose._

 _Jerking upright with a snort, she rubbed her nose with one hand, thankfully not drunk enough to rub the lit cigarette against her own face, even if it was a near thing._

 _Well, embarrassing mishaps aside, being dead wasn't all that bad._

 _She could still get a good buzz going if she tried, and since the rules in this dreary place seemed rather flexible, smoke and booze runs were a thing of the past._

 _She wasn't really surprised that she'd ended up here, even if she really shouldn't have ended up here at all._

 _He had always been bad at letting go._

" _Ah, what the hell. Complicated stuff like that never suited me anyways. Besides, left him a little early, I think."_

 _Another puff of smoke._

" _Damn though, he really hasn't grown up at all, what the hell you doing out there, JB?"_

 _... Well, she couldn't really blame either of them when it came right down to it._

 _She hadn't finished growing up either._

* * *

A soft humming filled the room as Yuuji stepped out of the transportation circle and into the common room of the dorm.

The humming was coming from a smiling Akeno, currently being carried in his arms, her own draped around his neck.

Those arms tightened suddenly as she gave a sharp gasp.

Turning his head down to her in confusion, Yuuji was met with a look of incredible guilt.

Why would she-?

Oh.

They had planned not to do anything like that yesterday, or last night for that matter.

Hell, they hadn't even intended to sleep in the same room.

Today was supposed to be the day of of Yuuji's date with Rias, and they hadn't even spent the night at _home_.

How very considerate.

It had been awhile since Yuuji felt like this much of an asshole.

Would she even want to?

Sure, they'd showered and changed, but the scratches hadn't healed.

Yuuji didn't really know how dating multiple women was supposed to work, but he doubted Rias would appreciate him being 'marked' if they decided to go all the way.

This…

"This isn't good. We- I… oh Rias…"

Akeno was starting to hyperventilate.

Somehow, the usual tactic of 'kissing her to take her mind off things' seemed inappropriate.

Well, they still had a few hours before the date…

And there were footsteps coming down the stairs.

Akeno froze in his arms when Rias, with hair wet from her shower and little more than a loose, short white bathrobe padded down the last step.

Her smile did its best to illuminate the room even as those radiant blue eyes dimmed, for just a moment.

"Welcome home, you two."

"Yeah."

"Rias…"

Akeno began hesitantly.

"I'm sorry."

Everything went still.

It hadn't been Yuuji, it hadn't been Akeno.

 _Rias_ had apologized.

She pushed on before they could find their voices again.

"I know how scared you were to confess to Yuuji, I knew you couldn't wait anymore, I even encouraged you to go ahead with it yesterday..."

Rias closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"And I'm still jealous. What kind of Master, what kind of friend am I, if you finally work up the courage to bear your heart and all I can feel is _jealousy_!?"

She retreated back onto the first step.

"Rias, you're wrong, you're not the one who should be- Rias wait!"

A desperate Akeno exploded into motion, her legs thankfully doing their job without falter as she caught Rias before she could take another step, pulling her off the stairs and into a tight embrace.

"A-Akeno! Stop it, that's enough! Akeno, let me go!"

Rias struggled in her Queen's grip, but couldn't seem to muster any strength for it.

"Rias… please, just listen. I'm the one who should be sorry, I'm the one who couldn't wait one more day to dump my problems on someone else. Rias, I'm so, so sorry."

"T-that's… no! We both know how important that was! I'm your King, it's my job to put you first!"

"No, it's your job to be happy. _With us._ Rias, it's okay to be angry. It's okay to be jealous, it's okay to be sad."

Akeno turned one eye back to the silently standing Yuuji.

"It's okay to tell us what you really want."

His dull voice sent a tremor through the crimson-haired girl, trying her best to wilt away and disappear.

"I…"

Another deep breath.

"I… I don't want what you have, Akeno. I don't want what you have, Yuuji. I… I just want a chance…"

Akeno gave her a reassuring squeeze as she faltered, beckoning her on wordlessly.

"I just want a chance to have something of my own… not as Rias Gremory, not as Buchou, just as Rias. Is that so wrong?"

Two voices answered as one.

"No, it isn't."

Rias took another deep breath, and this time, the tension went with her.

When her eyes opened, they were accompanied by a dusting of color across her soft cheeks, and rather than a tremble, it was more of a squirm.

"T-then… i-if you're not busy, Y-Yuuji, would you… accompany me, today?"

"Nope."

Rias flinched, but Yuuji's smile carried such an uncharacteristic sense of warmth with it, that her pain withered before it was even really felt.

"No, I'm going to do this right."

Yuuji strode forward to the furiously blushing crimson-haired girl as the beaming ravennette released her at last, and stepped aside.

Yuuji gently took her hand as Rias' fidgeting intensified, and she tried her best to keep both eyes locked on him, without looking directly at him.

"Rias, I don't think I deserve you at all, but if you could find it in your heart to spare me just one day, it would mean the world to me."

Rias blinked her watery blue eyes.

In the end no words could escape, so she gave his hand a tiny, halting squeeze and gave a stuttering nod of her head.

"Thank you, Rias."

* * *

After that, she was pretty sure he'd apologized for something that she really couldn't remember since whatever it was must have happened so long ago she couldn't remember it.

Just like she couldn't remember having gone back up stairs, or having seated herself on a stool in front of her bathroom mirror.

Oh, and Akeno was there too.

Strange.

Oh, but Akeno could help her with something, couldn't she?

Right, the-

One hand cupping her face, the adoring coo that slipped from Akeno's lips ruptured her possibly scattered train of thoughts.

"Wha-?"

Came the detailed request for clarification.

"Daydream later, ufufu~. While I'm sure he'll appreciate you with nothing on, why don't we at least give him something to take off?"

Sorry Akeno, Rias isn't home.

Call back later-

Rias' train of thought was this time interrupted by a soft moan, slipping from her own lips.

She blinked rapidly as her keen intellect concluded that the moan likely bore a connection to Akeno's stray hand.

One perfect brow arched as she lowered her gaze to the hand currently grasping onto her bared right breast.

"Did you just grope me?"

Akeno gave another squeeze, as if making sure, before nodding.

That seemed wholly unnecessary, if perhaps not _wholly_ unwelcome, just as the ageless wisdom in those violet eyes seemed wholly inappropriate.

"Pinching your cheek would have ruined you complexion."

Declared the worldly, raven-haired sage, unrepentantly continuing her subdued molestation of the girl seated in front of her.

Rias gave her the look, and Akeno grudgingly retracted her hand.

That one silky finger feathered its way across a pert nipple, sending tingles _all_ the way through her body, must have surely been coincidence.

Or Akeno was horny.

Again.

The odds were even, she felt.

Probably.

Apparently Akeno's other hand had not been idle, as the brush ran its way through the crimson river before it.

"Hmm, I think we'll leave your hair down, Yuuji really likes watching it catch the light."

'H-he does?"

Akeno nodded with a soft hum, pretending not to notice as Rias preened a bit.

She was glad that things had been smoothed over for now, she really had felt bad about monopolizing Yuuji all night, the night before Rias was supposed to have her long awaited date.

Rias' hesitant voice snapped Akeno out of her musings before she could pursue the gloomy train of thought any further.

"Akeno, I… I, um…"

"Rias?"

Akeno smiled patiently, easily being able to understand that Rias had began speaking before she knew what she wanted to say.

Unheard of in any public setting, but here, where they were alone, Rias didn't have to be a King, and could just be a teenage girl.

Akeno was sincerely hoping that with Yuuji, Rias could find even just one more place where that was true.

"I… I'm n-not sure I'm ready…?"

Oh.

That was a bit concerning- oh, Rias was blushing.

So _that's_ what she meant.

At the silent prompt, Rias continued, face red as she avoided her friends gaze in the mirror.

"I mean, to… you know…"

"Know…?"

"T-to sleep with Y-Yuuji."

Akeno gave a slow sigh and leaned her body forward, pressing up against Rias' back as she draped her arms over her shoulders.

"He won't mind, you know."

Rias jerked up in clear surprise, staring wide eyed at Akeno's patiently smiling reflection.

"H-he won't!? B-but you and him do it all the time!"

"Rias, you're misunderstanding something important, I think."

Her heart skipped a beat when Rias wilted a little.

"S-should I not? D-does he not, you know… s-see me that way?"

Akeno bit back a disappointed groan and stared hard at Rias, with one eyebrow raised.

She took the time to insure her best friend looked suitably chastised before continuing.

"No, that's not what I mean. Yuuji is fully on-board with sleeping with you. I know, because I asked if he would."

"Y-you asked!?"

Akeno gave a shameless nod, smiling wickedly.

"Ara, Yuuji-kun still had his reservations about the whole 'harem' thing, so I thought that if I broached the fun subjects he'd be less worried about how I thought."

"That makes sense… I suppose?"

"Mhm, so if you want Yuuji, go for it. I can share, ufufu~."

"B-but if I don't want to and he does… won't that be… awkward?"

Akeno shook her head firmly.

"Yuuji's a bully. But when it comes to being a bully about things like _that_ , he's only a bully if you want that from him."

"... I don't understand."

"JB and I have talked. Yuuji is the sort who gets off the most on the _girl's_ reaction. If you aren't enjoying yourself, he won't enjoy it either. That both means he's amazing in bed-"

Akeno took a moment to shiver in delight.

"-And that he's going to be incredibly attentive to your needs. If you say you're not ready, he won't push. If you _are_ ready on the first date, like I was, Yuuji won't accept any hints, no matter how blatant."

Akeno's lustful smile deepened as her breath grew husky.

"He'll make you say _exactly_ what you want, and then he'll give it to you in ways you could _never_ imagine."

Akeno trailed off as she noticed Rias gaze of total concentration, the flush in her cheeks causing it to seem less like the absolute focus of the Gremory King, and more the glittering eyed daydreams of a smitten girl.

That look faltered rather quickly when Akeno started to giggle, but the nervousness had by now been replaced in its entirety by girlish pouting, and thus Akeno would take the win.

Her arms gave a reassuring squeeze.

"Rias, it's not a contest. Move at your own pace, and please, please don't try to rush because you think you should."

She had firm evidence that faking it was impossible with Yuuji, in the form of the single most embarrassing moment of her entire life.

Yuuji had seemed a bit distracted, during one of their nightly sessions, and so a slightly miffed Akeno had gotten the brilliant idea of growing more vocal than she really felt the need to be, in an effort to snap him out of it.

It had worked perfectly, and failed just as spectacularly.

She had reclaimed his full attention, almost instantly.

She had also been subjected to the soul crushing embarrassment of feeling certain parts of her man go limp while _still_ _inside of her._

As Yuuji slid out of her folds from the sudden lack of tension, he had calmly stared at the mortified girl, one eyebrow raised, waiting until Akeno was too ashamed to even look at him to ask if she was done being an idiot.

Suffice to say, from then on, nothing that came from Akeno within the bedroom was anything but total honesty.

Rias had gathered her thoughts enough to distract Akeno from her existential horror by then, thankfully.

"OK. Thank you, Akeno."

"Anytime, Rias."

Their time spent preparing for the date was much more pleasant, after that.

* * *

He was beginning to wonder if there was some ancient law, binding modern Japan itself with certain immutable rules.

Perhaps it was the work of the gods, because Yuuji had learned from Akeno that the Japanese pantheons were not only alive and well, but highly influential within their native lands.

This train of thought had been prompted by the small line that he and Rias were standing in, arm and arm.

The line to the crepe stand in the park they'd selected for their picnic.

This was three for three now, as every date Yuuji had been on while on Japanese soil had inevitably wound up crossing paths with a crepe stand.

Raynare hadn't actually stopped at said crepe stand, them having just left the cafe they'd stopped at, but she'd been sorely tempted to say the least.

They were also on a picnic, so Yuuji could at least hope that he didn't somehow end up being used as a model in a clothing store, otherwise he'd begin to think he'd been cursed.

He was pretty that asking for an exorcism would just get him killed, being a Devil and all.

He was also fairly certain that eating crepes before lunch would affect their appetites, but Rias had been drawn like a moth to the flame, and so he'd held his tongue.

He had the handle of a well-laden picnic basket under his right arm, preferring to offer his flesh and blood arm to the girl at his side.

Yuuji found himself strongly reminded of Akeno when they reached the head of the line, as Rias had given him a single, critical stare before ordering on his behalf without an ounce of hesitation.

The crepe finally put a stop to the humming, he noted, not that Yuuji had minded all that much, since she was still glowing.

When he'd met Rias in the common room, she'd scarcely been able to ask his opinion before he gave it in typical blunt fashion, and the only word out of his mouth, at first, had been 'amazing'.

Weak to compliments without ulterior motive, the highly sought after daughter of nobility had required some time to recover her meager defenses.

Then, the arm Yuuji had linked with hers, in order to guide along the dazed beauty, had found itself very much trapped.

He'd actually averted his gaze, briefly, unsure of what expression he himself was making before the sheer _radiance_ of the smile across her lips.

Rias hadn't noticed that even more people were staring at the young beauty than normal, too busy beaming ear to ear and humming happily to herself.

She'd likely never know, but after Akeno had seen the two of them off, she'd promptly scooped a pillow off a nearby couch and squealed into it until she ran out breath.

If Rias was going to be that cute all the time, she honestly wasn't sure her heart would be up to the task.

For their date, Rias, with her friends help, had chosen a tight-fitting, long sleeved tan top with a strapless neckline that left her shoulders, upper arms and the top half of her cleavage exposed to the open air.

It was tucked into a pair of scarlet short shorts, a shade or two darker than her hair, with silver buttons, over top of rich brown leggings.

Completing the outfit were simple flats matching her shorts in color, and a plaid beret in a mixture of white, brown and red.

"Mm, it's good!"

Rias chirped, the uppermost of her daintily crossed legs bouncing slightly as she enjoyed the treat.

"That so?"

Yuuji asked, calmly taking bites of his much less sugary crepe.

Or, 'suitably boring crepe' as Rias had teasingly put it.

Even though it still had whipped creme.

"Mhm, try it!"

Rias thrust that monstrosity she called a crepe towards him, and Yuuji, girding himself with his most convincing poker face, managed to look accepting, rather than like he'd prefer eating the bench they were seated on.

"Hmm, that is pretty good."

Yuuji admitted, after taking a very small bite.

Rias nodded, looking inordinately pleased.

"Your turn."

Until Yuuji offered his own crepe in return, and then she blushed crimson for reasons Yuuji wasn't entirely sure of.

"Do you not want to?"

"No! I definitely want to!"

Rias exclaimed, oddly insistent.

"If you're sure…"

Rias was scowling at him a little as she leaned forward to taste test, distracted just as Yuuji planned.

So when she took a bite of his crepe, she didn't notice immediately that a small dollop of creme had ended up on her cheek.

That is, until Yuuji told her she had something on her face, and, with his free hand tilting her chin, swooped his head down to lick it clean before she could react.

Rias blinked at nothing, once, twice, with eyes suspiciously glassy.

Ever the dutiful servant, Yuuji calmly relieved her of her crepe before it could end up in her lap.

She couldn't even stay mad at him when her system rebooted, because her adorable pout (and she knew it was adorable damn it!) rather than rightfully prompting guilt, just made him laugh at her!

It wasn't even his subdued chuckles that made you second-guess if he'd reacted at all, no,, she could swear his laughter even had an echo!

Honestly, he didn't play fair at all, did he?

She decided she'd forgive him though, just this once, if such a simple thing could make him smile like that.

* * *

A mild breeze whispered through the grass around them and the leaves high above their head, bringing with it the faint scent of flowers in bloom.

Eyes closed, Yuuji enjoyed the soft winds, just as he enjoyed the warmth of the body next to him.

"Hmm, really outdid yourself there."

Enjoying the simple lunch that Rias had made the night before, tucked away in the basket he'd carried.

Rias made a pleased noise at his side, and gradually he allowed his eyes to flicker open once more.

"How beautiful."

"Yes-"

Rias cut herself off, just having noticed that while he was facing mostly forward, his one visible eye focused on her, and her alone.

A dusting of pink graced her cheeks as she ducked her head, though not far enough to conceal the smile tugging at her lips.

"Sneak attacks are no fair."

She murmured without any heat.

"That should be my line."

It really wasn't fair when the sun slipped through the trees, at just the right angle to send her crimson locks ablaze like that.

Yuuji would wonder from time to time why all the Devils and Fallen Angels in his life seemed so bright.

Unaware of the set of blue eyes watching him, Yuuji frowned softly as the thought struck him.

When _had_ his world gotten so bright?

A soft body pressed up against him as Rias leaned her head on his shoulders.

"I don't know, Yuuji, but I'm glad it did."

"Said that last bit out loud, did I?"

"Mhm."

"I'm glad too, I think."

For a brief while, nothing was heard but the breeze.

"This is… relaxing. It's rare I can feel like just Rias. It's…"

Yuuji kept his silence for a moment, waiting for that faint whisper to continue.

After a moment, he tilted his head downwards, noticing that the slight weight against him had been ever so slightly increasing.

She probably didn't even see it herself, but the tension had never seemed to fully leave Rias, as of late.

Just like she probably didn't know she wasn't fooling even a single one of them.

Even if it was just a slight tension of the shoulders, or a faint narrowing of the eyes, always the signs were there since they'd limped away from the battle with Kokabiel.

She'd been extra attentive, and always seemed to let the members of the household out of her sight with a faint air of reluctance.

Not now, though.

She seemed so delicate, so fragile, leaned up against him.

Though, the serene smile on her sleeping face was one he doubted he'd ever forget.

Finally, peace.

It was strange, he supposed.

Somewhere along the way he'd been allowed to sample the normal life that he'd always craved in secret.

It had only taken his death and resurrection, as a creature of darkness, to see his modest dream reach fruition.

Gently, he shifted the sleeping girl to a more comfortable resting spot.

He supposed he'd have to make his gratitude clear some other time.

"You really were tired, huh? Rest for awhile then, Rias... I'm not going anywhere."

No, he wasn't.

Kazami Yuuji was right where he wanted to be.

* * *

Long lashes fluttering open, Rias nestled her head against her favorite pillow, pleasantly warm from both her own body heat, and the soft sunlight peeking through the curtains.

She must be having a dream, she supposed, because the rich carpet of her room looked suspiciously like grass.

Oh well, if she was dreaming then no one could fault her for relaxing a bit.

With a languid yawn, she shifted her head to look up at the dark ceiling of her room.

Belatedly, it occurred to her that instead of a dark ceiling, it was a pair of dark eyes that met her gaze first.

That sort of dream, was it?

"Hello there, Yuuji."

She offered with a pleasant smile.

"... Sleep well?"

"Hmm, yes, I'm rather comfortable still."

Had she been more awake, she might have recognized the twinkle in his eyes for what it was.

They remained in comfortable silence for a time, and her eyes were just starting to drift close when they snapped open wide.

'Yuuji?"

"Yes, Rias?"

"Where are we?"

Yuuji lifted his gaze to survey his surroundings.

"Still the park, it would seem."

"I see…"

She couldn't quite seem to get a handle on what was nagging at her.

Thus, Rias turned her head to the other side for the first time, finding herself greeted by the sight of Yuuji's shirt.

Understanding dawning at last, Rias made a strange noise and slowly turned her head back towards the 'ceiling', covering her rapidly warming face with both hands.

She didn't lift her head though.

She was enjoying her favorite pillow, even if the rankings had seemingly changed hands without her awareness.

Not really minding, Yuuji let his gaze drift skywards until she was ready to speak once more.

"I was looking forward to my first lap pillow… though I didn't expect to be the recipient."

Rias' voice remained muffled by her hands.

"We can switch, if you'd like."

"... I will have to pass, I think."

"Is it to your liking then?"

"Neither too hard nor too soft, I believe it's just perfect. I'm feeling rather well rested."

"That's oddly reassuring."

"As it should be."

Rias had an odd note of pride to her voice as she spoke, her Gremory-born instinct to revel in any of the 'achievements' of her servants shining through.

Yuuji could only smile as her hands slipped away from her face once more.

* * *

The second time Rias awoke with much more vigor, jerking up from Yuuji's lap, dumping the thin jacket that covered her as she moved.

"Yuuji!?"

"Yes?"

"H-how long was I asleep?"

Yuuji lifted his watch.

"Three hours, give or take?"

"T-three!?"

Rias flinched away as if he'd slapped her.

"Calm down."

"B-but we're supposed to be on a date, spending time together!"

"And we haven't been apart since we left the dorm."

Yuuji pointed out, a little unsure as to why she was so worked up.

"But that's…"

"Rias."

Yuuji looped one arm around her shoulders, and one hand to her chin, turning her head so that they could see eye-to-eye.

Rias went still, meekly staring at him.

"You're looking at this the wrong way. It's not as if I didn't get anything out of this."

Rias blinked in confusion.

"And you're making it sound like us keeping busy is important."

Rias opened her mouth to protest, but Yuuji pushed on.

"Or were we only going to do this once?"

That killed any protests, though it less cured her bout of shyness so much as changed the reason behind it.

"N-no… I'm sorry for dozing off but I'm still really, really happy… and w-well I hope that you are too…"

She peeked her head up slightly to peer at him from under her bangs.

"And like I said, you're looking at this the wrong way."

Rias lifted herself upright to look at him fully once more, curiosity evident.

"Among other things, your sleeping face is unreasonably cute."

… And her reactions to surprise attacks like that were still top-notch.

* * *

Dinner time rolled around, as tended to be the case, and they were, among all the possible options, seated at a small noodle stand halfway across town from their residence.

Normally, Yuuji would have taken a girl somewhere nicer on her first date, often a reservation if he felt it appropriate, but Rias had specifically requested for him not to.

Rias was well-accustomed to to the sort of establishments where if one had to ask for the prices, one couldn't afford them in the first place.

Places with several months long wait-lists during the slow seasons.

Wait-lists that she could often skip at will, should the fancy ever take her.

So she'd asked to have dinner with Yuuji at the kind of place you couldn't even book a reservation for.

Not due to price or exclusivity, but the exact opposite.

She had the distinct impression that attempting to book a reservation for an establishment with precisely six chairs and a curtain, rather than a door, would only lead to her being laughed at.

That, and Yuuji hadn't planned a specific location, rather, he had planned a route for their walk that offered several possibilities, and allowed Rias to fall to temptation at her own pace.

The childlike wonder in her eyes as they wandered less-than public streets was well worth it, he felt.

As was the revelation that Rias Gremory could, and in fact did make slurping udon adorable.

The slightly grizzled, smiling chef watched his two customers as they ate, and when Yuuji met his eyes with an appreciative nod, took one look at the beaming redhead beside him and winked.

Rias had just been informed that when one ran out of noodles, they could drink the broth by lifting the bowl to their lips.

Yuuji had the distinct impression that only her full hands prevented her from gleefully clapping them together.

After paying, a task Rias was soundly denied, they had taken once more to wandering the streets arm in arm, having a few more hours of daylight left.

Yuuji had noticed that Rias seemed to be carefully searching for something, after a while, but he decided to leave it for the time being.

That resolve didn't last for very long.

"Looking for something in particular?"

Rias jumped a bit, her grip on him tightening out of reflex.

"N-no! Just curious, I haven't been in this part of town ehehe…"

Rias trailed off, mumbling awkwardly.

"I was sure 'that' kind of hotel…"

"Love hotel?"

Yuuji clarified, Rias apparently forgetting that Devils had sharp hearing.

Rias stiffened like a wooden doll, but meekly nodded her lowered head after a moment.

"Probably in a different part of town."

In other words, he'd been steering them away from those particular streets.

He wasn't going to risk the chance that Rias would see one and convince herself of some sort of 'obligation'.

The possibility was a bit too far from zero for his preference.

"Why, curious?"

"M-maybe a little…"

"Hrm, well I can't say I share that curiosity."

"Y-you don't?"

Predictably, Rias wilted like a dying flower.

"No."

"I-I see…"

The fingers entwined with his own weakened their grip.

He doubted she was even aware.

"After all, I'd feel pretty guilty leading a girl into a place like that when her knees are knocking together."

"...Huh?"

Rias' voice was laden with confusion, as if she had heard his words but couldn't fathom their meaning.

Slowly, Rias let her gaze fall to discover that yes, her legs were shaking rather violently.

"Huh?"

She repeated.

Yuuji let out a long sigh.

"Rias, stop trying to force yourself."

"I! I-I'm not… I don't know what you…"

"Rias, why don't you tell me what's been bothering you?"

"There's n-nothing."

"You're a terrible liar and we both know it."

Rias displayed a narrowing of the eyes that might have been a glare, but didn't manage to fully form.

"Rias."

Yuuji's voice took on an edge of firm insistence that made her straighten in spite of herself.

Sighing in defeat, Rias closed her eyes for a moment, frowning softly.

"I… I want to… do the things you do with Akeno… but I don't have the right… do I?"

"The right? Rias, what do rights have anything to do with this?"

Rias opened her eyes and finally met his once more.

Her weak little smile had a bitter, resigned edge to it.

"I've tried to sleep with you before, remember? I tried to _use_ you to get out of my marriage. What's to say I won't do it again?"

"Nothing really. Maybe you will try to use me again."

Despite the brittle edge to her smile, Rias didn't seem all that surprised he'd agree.

"The only question I can really ask, Rias, is _so what?"_

 _That_ made her stumble, eyes going wide with shock.

"S-so what? What do you mean, so what!?"

" People use each other all the time. Is it really so wrong to use me for your own happiness if doing so let's me use you for mine?"

"T-that's... it…"

"People aren't born complete, Rias."

Rias could only offer a puzzled stare.

"We need other people to help us become whole. There is nothing wrong with that. What's wrong is getting help from other people and never trying to return the favor."

Rias went silent, another pensive frown on her face.

Yuuji could tell he was starting to get through to her, so he decided to push for home.

"Stop trying to complicate things, and be honest about what you want."

Rias released his hand and spun away for a moment, standing tall.

After a second, she clapped herself on the cheeks several times and then pumped her fists as if psyching herself up.

"Right!"

She spun on her heel to face him once more and stepped in close, pinning her hand over his heart as she pressed their bodies together, before turning her heated gaze away.

"I'd like you to take me to one of those… l-love hotels."

"And what do you want to do when we get there?"

Her heavy-lidded gaze snapped open wide.

He was going to make her say it, wasn't he?

Just like Akeno said.

… He really was something else, wasn't he.

"There, I want to give you my first time."

Yuuji lifted one hand and turned her gaze towards him with a finger on her chin.

Rias went a little cross-eyed trying to stare at it, before locking her shimmering blue eyes onto his much darker gaze.

"That, I can work with... Rias."

* * *

Rias had immediately locked herself in the bathroom to 'freshen up'.

Also to make a hushed phone call to Akeno, which he was definitely unaware of because Rias was definitely being as quiet as she thought she was.

He'd keep it to himself that Akeno had already shot him a text or two, offering an insider perspective.

Yuuji was well-known for his poker-face (lack of expression), and so he kept the chuckles in when Rias swept out of the bathroom with all the determination of a kitten before a ball of string.

She strode towards him where he sat on the bed, and then…

Awkwardly lurched to a halt.

He kept silent as she reddened, watching the gears turn.

Slowly, Yuuji stood up, and Rias jolted, not out of panic but rather genuine surprise, as she'd momentarily forgotten he was in the room.

She stared at him, and Yuuji suppressed a sigh, not wanting to wound her pride at such a fragile juncture.

He was pretty sure he understood what was happening.

Rias was used to being in control.

Which didn't help her in the slightest when they both knew she was clueless as to how to proceed.

Calmly, Yuuji began to unbutton his shirt, watching Rias all the while.

He'd made it about halfway before a slender pair of hands moved his away and took over.

The end result was a button-up on the floor and Rias staring at his bare chest.

Tentatively, with an almost guilty air, Rias lifted one hand to his pec, her cool fingers sending a slight shiver through him.

Gradually, her whole hand rested on his chest, and Yuuji watched, with no small amount of amusement, as Rias found herself momentarily enthralled by the beating of the heart beneath her hand.

With the slow, uncertain motions of someone slowly ensnared by guilty pleasure, Rias' slender digits trailed their way down his chest, halting momentarily on the thin scar that traced the edge of his lower rib, before finding themselves resting on the uppermost ridge of a chiseled set of abdominals.

Rias froze there, for a moment, a strange glitter in her eyes and a faint heat in her cheeks, before her fingers began moving once more.

Yuuji watched patiently as the wonder-filled girl mapped out his abs with her fingers, bemusedly wondering when-

Rias jerked her head up guiltily to lock soulful eyes onto his, clearly having forgotten that there was a person attached to the muscles she was playing with.

His smile must have been more of a smirk, because she puffed out her cheeks and shoved him onto the bed.

Tried, anyways, instead letting out a shriek when Yuuji pulled her with him, leaving her straddling him so closely that their noses almost touched.

Rias straightened up so fast he thought her neck might crack, but didn't actually get off him, so Yuuji considered that progress.

"So... am I the only one getting undressed?"

Apparently not, as Rias looked down at her own top in something like surprise, and promptly relieved herself of it.

Black, white and red lace, huh?

She and Akeno definitely had been talking.

Yuuji lifted one hand, covering about half the distance between them, and cocked an eyebrow.

Rias took his hand and placed it firmly on her clothed breast.

Yuuji let it rest, instead lifting the other hand in similar fashion.

Only when it received the same treatment did Yuuji begin to move, rubbing slow circles that brought his thumb whispering over covered, but still very much erect nipples.

Rias let her eyes drift closed, a soft moan slipping free as she slowly began to rock her hips.

This prevented her from seeing Yuuji's soft smile turn wicked, and she was too busy enjoying his motions to realize that his hands were slowly working their way upwards.

She was about to learn the greatest feature of a strapless bra, which he could only assume was defying gravity through magic.

... Which wasn't something to say in jest anymore, was it?

"Hmm… my turn, I think."

Rias didn't even register that he'd spoken, at first.

She _did_ register that suddenly her nipples had been exposed to open air, and her eyes snapped open as Yuuji pulled down her last covering, letting her massive breasts bounce free.

It was too late to do anything, though, ad her surprised squeak dissolved into another breathy moan, Yuuji continuing his work unimpeded.

"I like this view better, I think."

"You~."

Another moan-

"Think?"

"I do, though I feel like the verdict shouldn't be rushed."

Yuuji spoke with utter seriousness, fully devoted to experimenting with the elasticity of the breasts beneath his fingers.

This was a matter of grave importance after all, as Akeno deeply desired an unbiased opinion of the differences between her breasts and those of Rias.

Something he'd assess in hindsight, however, comparing two women, while he was engaged in foreplay with one of them, seemed more than a little rude.

Oh, he let himself get distracted.

Her legs were quivering again, but this most certainly didn't have to do with _discomfort_.

"Oh right, your breasts are really sensitive."

"Oh… right? H-h-how do you… know that at-"

Rias cut herself off with another moan.

"I might have paid close attention when Suu molested you for the first time."

Because there most certainly had been other times, Suu enjoyed 'heavy petting' and would slide under bathroom doors to join the girls from time to time if she was feeling peckish.

Or 'thirsty' perhaps?

"That… sOH~!"

"Sorry, Rias, say that again please?"

"I… s-AAid!"

Aww, she was trying to glare.

How cute.

"Well I think I've had enough fun for now, what say we move things along?"

Yuuji inquired politely, removing his fingers from Rias' mildly throbbing chest, taking extra care to brush her nipples once more on the way down.

"So… you admit it!?"

Rias demanded in a voice more sexy than stern.

She was still sitting on top of him, but now she had both hands on his chest to keep herself upright.

In one smooth motion, Yuuji lifted himself from the bed and stood up, scooping the much lighter girl up into his arms in one smooth motion.

Rias had a few seconds to blush before he twisted around and dumped her on the bed, her calves hanging off and Yuuji's body leaned over her.

Yuuji found himself wrestling to keep his sadistic urges in check as Rias watched him timidly through heavy-lidded eyes, head tilted to one side and one fist up to her lips.

Making sure to keep her gaze, Yuuji lowered his left hand to her waistline, and undid the first button of her shorts.

Rias free hand jerked towards his own suddenly as he went for the second button, so Yuuji halted, regarding her patiently.

After another tense beat of her pounding heart, Rias lowered her hand to the covers beside her head, and gave a tiny little nod.

Yuuji undid another button, and Rias squirmed a little.

Yuuji reached for the third and final button-

Rias gave a little squeak as rather than feeling the last button pop free, cold fingers slid their way beneath layers of thin fabric.

In an impressive display of dexterity, Yuuji's thumb unhooked the last button as the rest of his fingers slowly pushed the covering layers down.

Right as the tips of his long fingers reached a patch of boiling heat, they halted once more.

The young beauties eyes went wide and she whipped her head up to meet Yuuji's gaze, eyes swimming with a mixture of surprise and panic at having been suddenly denied.

Yuuji gave her enough time to lock gazes fully before his hand slid down a little further and _hooked_.

Rias' back arched like a drawn bow as she gave a short scream.

Yuuji stilled his fingers once more.

Rias admonished him through long, heavy pants, the ache in her voice subverting its usual authority.

"Stop… teasing…"

"Teasing? Hmm, that wasn't my intention. I'm just not entirely sure what you want."

"Even… now?"

"There's an easy way to fix this, I think."

Rias latched onto his words with a clear desperation.

"Why don't you try giving me an order?"

Huh, she actually clenched around his fingers.

Valuable information.

"N-no…"

"No?"

"D-don't… want- control! Y-Yuuji!"

Yuuji leaned in closer, until their lips were almost touching, as the words struggled their way free from the squirming girl.

Rias snapped both hands around the back of his head and met him halfway, catching him in a searing kiss that saw their tongues dancing around each other.

The fingers buried within her remained motionless.

Rias broke away with a gasp shortly after, untangling her fingers from his hair, a line of saliva linking them for a moment before it fell free onto her naked chest and sent a shiver through her.

"I don't want control… so Yuuji, please…"

For the first time since they'd entered the room, a passionate smile set her face aglow.

"Please, Yuuji… j _ust take me~._ "

Yuuji tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowed as her smile refused to vanish.

"Give me your hands, Rias."

Confused but compliant, Rias lifted her hands up in front of her, almost together.

Yuuji's free hand encircled both slender wrists and pinned them above her head.

Wide-eyed, feverish anticipation was met by a loving, wicked smirk.

"Sorry, what I meant to say was… a _s you wish, my King_."

Rias didn't have time to protest before his buried fingers scissored apart in the sweltering heat that constricted them, a thumb joining the ring finger to lightly grasp a protruding little nub.

Rias bucked as Yuuji mashed his lips against hers, her blissful wail echoing down his throat.

With his weight against her, Rias could do nothing but squirm and twitch her legs as Yuuji's left hand began to pump in and out, her clit being released but his thumb brushing against it every time his fingers hilted.

Wet, slick noises filled the air as every moan and groan was devoured by the dark-haired man pinning her to the bed.

Yuuji lifted himself off of her ever so slightly, just enough that when he moved his body with the thrust of his fingers, her stiff nipples scraped every so slightly against his rocky chest.

Fingers piercing her again and again, hot lips crushed against her own, and the long tongue laying claim to every single inch of her mouth.

Rias found herself slowly coming unwound.

Surely it couldn't get any better than this.

As if to answer the unspoken question, the fingers exploring her deepest places found that one, _perfect_ spot, and the rough lips tore themselves away.

A scream of pure, unfiltered ecstasy tore through the air.

Invading fingers came free with a wet squish as Yuuji's other hand released her.

Rias could only struggle to return the breath into her heaving chest.

Yuuji lifted himself off of her, just enough that they were no longer touching, watching her pant and gasp with a tiny, proud smile on his face.

"Wow…"

She managed to rasp out.

"That should be my line."

"B-but we're not done…"

That was probably meant to be a statement, not a question.

"Catch your breath first."

"B-but… I'm sure _Akeno_ would keep going…"

Yuuji went still.

She hadn't sounded… jealous, precisely.

More like she had a very firm notion of how things _should_ be.

'Doesn't want control? Bullshit.'

"And why would you bring up Akeno at a time like this?"

She didn't seem to recognize the danger behind his mild tone.

"N-nothing… j-just I can… k-keep going too."

She hadn't even caught her breath yet.

"I don't think it's nothing."

Rias blinked at him in puzzlement, missing the warnings signs once again.

Yuuji's right hand pinned her arms once more, and this time, he dispelled the glamor so that she could feel it for _real_.

"Now why would you bring up her at a time like this?"

Yuuji pondered as Rias began to squirm in vain, finally realizing that she might have said the wrong thing.

"Y-Yuuji?"

"Ah, could it be?"

Yuuji continued, as if he hadn't heard.

"Maybe you're starting to wonder, if she was willing to share me…"

Rias went still as the breath caught in her throat, ashamedly averting her gaze.

 _"_ _Would I be willing to share her?"_

Blue eyes went wide.

"I… I don't know what you mean."

"That so?"

Yuuji let out a soft, thoughtful hum and then shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, perhaps that's a topic for another time. You should be asking a different question, I think?"

Rias whipped her head back his direction.

"Huh?"

"Something like…"

That dark little smirk returned with a vengeance and a hint of promise.

"What _has_ his other hand been doing?"

Rias didn't get the chance to answer as something entirely new pierced her depths and stopped.

Something hot and thick that brushed every side of her core at once.

Rias threw her head back with a tiny shriek as heat rolled through her in wave after wave.

Yuuji remained still, waiting for her to recover, and adjust.

After the gasping and the writhing died down, Rias opened her eyes to stare in Yuuji in dawning wonder, having just realized that somewhere along the way, he'd rid himself of the last of his clothes and-

"I-is that…?"

"Yeah, we're doing this for real now."

Yuuji informed her calmly, offering a gentle smile.

A sniffle escaped, and dark eyes widened slightly in concern.

"Rias?"

"I'm fine… just happy."

"I see."

"Yuuji's really filling me, isn't he?"

"Well…"

"Well what?"

Worry flitted across her flushed visage.

"We have a little farther to go."

Rias gulped.

"We'll take it slow, okay?"

Nervous once more, Rias gave a shaky but determined nod.

"Relax."

As the tension left her, Yuuji began to push.

Rias moaned.

Further.

Her toes curled.

Deeper.

Yuuji stopped as further entry was denied.

"Might hurt a little, so take a deep breath."

"O-okay."

Rias took a deep breath, and as the tension left her body, Yuuji pulled back and then _thrust_.

A hot flash of pain and an indescribable warmth sent a quake through her entire body.

Something between a scream and a groan slipped through her lips as Rias shuddered around him.

Yuuji was the only thing she could feel, filling her to the brim and scraping inside her with something that felt hot, and thick, and just so right.

"T-that was it… wasn't it? Yuuji marked me for real, didn't he?"

"... Yeah. You okay?"

Yuuji kept his voice level, but Rias was just a little bit more vocal than he'd expected.

Rias took a deep, shaky breath.

Yuuji bit down a flash of panic when she sniffled again.

"It scares me a little when you do that."

"C-could you let my hands go?"

"Sure."

Yuuji released his grip.

His concerns vanished when Rias' freed hands tangled in his hair, and her tongue did its level best to shove itself down his throat.

She gasped into his mouth when his hands roamed over her chest once more, stroking, kneading, rubbing.

As he did, Rias wove her tongue around his, exploring every inch and shivering in pleasure when Yuuji's low growl echoed through her.

She let her head fall back onto the bed as her air ran out, chest heaving under Yuuji's hands.

Right as she took a breath, Yuuji followed her back down, pulling back slightly to nibble at her neck.

Yuuji felt her breath hitch in her throat as he started moving again, slowly but surely pumping in and out of her as Rias began to fully adjust to Yuuji's length inside of her.

He took the cue to pick up the pace as Rias hooked her long legs around his hips, pulling him in in deeper than ever and making them both groan as Yuuji's cock pushed against the entrance to her womb.

Slender hands slipped onto Yuuji's back as his thrusting increased in pace, faster and faster as he drove the pinned beauty ever closer to the edge.

The nails that dug into Yuuji's back only seemed to spur him on, gentle nibbling turning to fierce suction against her neck, marking Rias in yet another way as she writhed beneath him.

Feeling Rias' walls began to squeeze and convulse, Yuuji slowed down just a little, trading his faster pace for long, drawn-out thrusts that made the girl beneath him bite her lip as her eyes rolled back in her head.

Yuuji pulled out until only the head of his shaft remained in the swirling heat of Rias' core.

He lifted his head at the same time, waiting.

Bewildered blue orbs stared up at him, confusion and just a hint of distress at being suddenly denied swirling in Rias' eyes.

She had just opened her mouth when Yuuji swept down to claim it once more, swallowing down another scream when Yuuji's length slammed all the way home.

The world turned white as the most explosive orgasm of her life tore through Rias, wailing into Yuuji again and again as he kept thrusting, dragging her orgasm out and driving her mind blank.

As the convulsing died down to sporadic twitching, Yuuji pulled his mouth away from Rias, teasingly pulling her tongue out between his lips.

He let out a chuckle as he released the organ, Rias' tongue not quite making it all the way back into the gasping girl's open mouth, her head lolling to the side.

At the same time, the silky death grip of her legs gave way, the slender limbs limply sliding off his back to dangle bonelessly off the bed.

Yuuji lifted himself off of the heavily dazed girl, propping himself on his side to watch her expression, even as one mischievous hand drew idle circles around a swollen nipple.

After a few minutes, long lashes began to flutter as the glazed look faded from his lover's eyes, and Yuuji, being himself, took this opportunity to smirk at her.

They locked eyes for a moment, until Rias broke her gaze to glare accusingly downwards at the fully erect penis that was idly resting against the enticing curve of her hip.

"You haven't had a single orgasm yet, have you?"

The odd question of whether she was talking to him, or just his dick made Yuuji chuckle once more.

Beautiful eyes snapped up once more, and very pinch-able cheeks puffed out.

Then a stern mask slipped over the face of a pouting girl, and Rias shoved Yuuji onto his back and rolled on top of him in one smooth motion.

Yuuji's dick twitched as it was pinned beneath her drenched lower lips.

Limbs quivering slightly, Rias lifted herself of off him with a determined expression, allowing his throbbing shaft to spring up into the air.

With a roll of her hips, Rias impaled herself once more and shuddered around him as Yuuji let out a sharp grunt.

"C-can't let you do all the work."

Rias managed, breathing rough as she began to rock her hips.

Remaining silent, Yuuji instead decided to reach out and grip her ass with both hands, squeezing gently as his fingers sank in.

Her rhythm faltering for an instant as Yuuji gave another experimental squeeze, Rias let out a sharp exhale and picked up speed, flesh slapping wildly as she rode him hard.

... Honestly.

Silly woman didn't even realize how exhausted she was, too busy trying to give more of herself to those she cared about.

It was part of the reason he admired her so much, but at the same time...

If she wouldn't rest, he would just force her to.

He was unfair like that.

Decision made, Yuuji went on the attack for real.

She was just at the apex of her motion when Yuuji's flesh and blood hand slipped a little farther inwards.

As their hips slammed together, Rias was sent spiraling off the edge by the long finger that invaded her ass.

Drenching Yuuji with a rush of hot fluid, Rias screamed atop him, head thrown back and eyes wide as she convulsed again and again.

The contractions finally pushed Yuuji over the edge, and Rias could only flop helplessly as the heat that painted her insides pushed her right into another orgasm, held upright only by Yuuji's free hand against the small of her back.

Yuuji lifted himself up into a sitting position, freeing his other arm to embrace Rias as well, and pulling her head down to rest on his shoulder as she twitched and moaned.

Rubbing small circles in her back, Yuuji held her gently as, just as he'd suspected, her weight fell against him fully and her breathing began to slow.

Gently, he laid the now sleeping girl down beside him on the bed.

Rising carefully, Yuuji padded over to the bathroom and grabbed a few towels to clean the two of them off a bit.

After that, Yuuji scooped Rias up in his arms and brought her around to the front of the bed, glad that the length of it would keep them well away from any… wet patches.

Pulling the covers back, he tucked Rias in and slipped in beside her, Rias already searching for him with a soft frown on her face, that shifted into a content smile when he drew her in, allowing her head to rest against his chest.

"Sorry if I was a little rough for our first time, Rias."

Rias kept her silence, of course.

"But, you were neglecting yourself a little too much in our favor, so now, take a nice, long rest."

The sleeping beauties smile grew radiant as a pair of lips pressed themselves softly to her forehead.

"Sleep well… and thank you, Rias."

Yuuji paused, and a warm smile that so few people ever got to see split his face as he pulled her in closer.

"Yeah, thank you for everything."

* * *

It was well after dark when he got home, slipping quietly through the front door.

The first sight to greet Kiba was a dark-haired beauty, reclining leisurely on the couch.

Noticing his arrival, a fond smile bloomed across her face as she sat up.

"Hmm, you're still awake, Akeno-san?"

"Ara, with Rias away for the night, it's the Queen's job to make sure everyone is home safe, isn't it?"

"... Yeah, that sounds like you alright."

"Ufufu, so, how was the date, Yuuto-kun?"

Kiba rolled his eyes, meeting her mischievous grin with an easy smile of his own.

"It wasn't like that. A few of the girls wanted to go to karaoke without any strange guys hitting on them."

"Of course, of course, and how many of the girls also hit on you?"

"Murayama and Katase were there, they're more interested in each other."

"So everyone."

Kiba's shoulders sagged.

"Yes, everyone."

Akeno covered her lips with one hand, though the action did nothing to muffle her laughter.

Helplessly, he joined in after a moment, not minding all that much.

When they'd recovered their breath, Kiba decided to ask the question that had been nagging at the back of his mind.

"Have you heard from either of them? Do you know how things went?"

With twinkling eyes to match her smile, Akeno dipped one hand deep into her cleavage and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.

Kiba walked over curiously, as she spread out the small paper on the coffee table, and picked up a stray pen.

By way of answer, a cheerfully humming Akeno drew a large check mark beside the first name on a list of several.

"That so?"

"Ufufu~."

"I wasn't all that worried, but confirmation is reassuring."

"Isn't it?"

Kiba stretched his arms over his head and yawned.

"Well, we have school in the morning so I'm going to turn in. Though, I'll take notes for Yuuji-kun just in case."

Akeno nodded.

"I didn't think I'd need to ask, and I'll be making excuses for Rias, of course. Oh, and, mind if I join you, Yuuto-kun? I could use someone to cuddle with, and Koneko wasn't feeling up to it."

"I don't mind, of course."

"But…?"

Akeno trailed off, waiting for Kiba to finish the thought.

"-But you have to keep that nightgown on. We both know you can actually sleep with clothes on, unlike Rias."

"Aww, Yuuto-kun doesn't want to see poor me naked? I'd be so sad if he thought I wasn't attractive."

Kiba didn't believe her for a second, of course, because Akeno's smile hadn't faltered in the slightest.

Even still, he decided he wasn't going to be the only one being teased.

Violet eyes widened as the Knight firmly placed both hands on her shoulders, hitting her with the full force of that charming smile that no woman, family or not, was _wholly_ immune to.

"Aka-nee, you're beautiful and I love you."

"Aww~."

"- But don't be gross."

"Aww…"

She still got her wish, of course, a rare night where her darling younger brother slept beside her, lean arms wrapped comfortably around her.

Perhaps the Gremory family had rubbed off on him, because Kiba Yuuto didn't mind cuddling with his sisters in the slightest, even if they were all gorgeous, non-blood related young women.

He just happened to be the only adopted Gremory who found sleeping naked uncomfortable.

Yeah, he was weird that way.

* * *

 **Yeah, Kiba's an odd lad.**

 **Had fun delving into Rias' mindset a bit more, she kind of feels underdeveloped despite being the 'main girl' in canon. A shame, since she has such a well-made base.**

 **But, the less she has developed, the more I get to play around with and develop on my own, as if I'm not going to do that whenever I want anyways.**

 **Anyways, not much else to say here, wrote my second lemon and dropped some exposition, so let me know what you think.**

 **PS: If anyone is curious, Rias' date outfit is actually from a mobage card, Chocolate V if you want to Google it.**


	14. Calm Waters

**Bit of a time skip here, draws thing roughly in line with the canon timeline.**

* * *

Several weeks had passed since the battle with Kokabiel.

Which also meant that several weeks had passed since Yuuji's first date with Rias, since Yuuji had found himself in a rather active relationship with both Akeno and Rias.

Luckily, their relationship was rumored, but unconfirmed at Kuoh Academy.

A single boy dating not one, but _both_ of Kuoh's Great Onee-sama's might have been considered an apocalyptic event.

Yuuji, at the very least, would have likely never had another peaceful school day for the duration of his high school career.

Though, it wasn't as if Rias or Akeno kept their distance when at school, even if they kept things (barely) appropriate.

So perhaps the reality was that the ability of the average student to bury themselves in denial was formidable indeed.

Which was for the best.

The trio had their own problems to deal with.

Well, Yuuji did anyways.

There had been a brief period of friction between the two girls over sharing Yuuji, but the end result of the 'discussion' had been a very, _very_ self-satisfied Akeno, and a Rias who couldn't meet her eyes (without blushing) for a week.

Yuuji decided not to ask, they seemed to have worked out a schedule that made all three of them happy, so he wouldn't interfere.

Rather, he had gone to someone else for help with _his_ problem.

* * *

"Sensei, do you have a little time after class? I had something I wanted to discuss with you."

"After class? Yes, I'll be available, Kazami-kun."

A rather surprised Kalawarner affirmed, making her best effort to keep her smile subdued.

This was the first time Yuuji had asked for, well, anything of the sort, so she was quite pleased.

Admittedly, calling the boy 'Kazami-kun' felt a bit strange to her, but decorum was important.

After all, a teacher/student relationship where they were typically addressed as 'Kala', and 'Yuuji-sama' respectively would have raised many, many questions.

* * *

The lessons passed uneventfully, and Asia, Raynare, and Kiba, while a bit concerned, went home without their last classmate as Yuuji waved them on.

Thus, one nylon-clad leg crossed in front of the other as she sat on the edge of her desk, Kalawarner regarded Yuuji carefully as he leaned against the desk in front of her.

"Before we begin, Kazami-kun, may I ask, does this pertain to the curriculum, or is there perhaps a personal matter you wish to address?"

Kalawarner asked, after confirming that they were fully alone (and putting up the magic circle on the ceiling that would continue to encourage that).

"Personal, actually."

"Ah, then go ahead, Yuuji-sama. How may I be of service?"

An immediate shift in tone, as Kalawarner adopted her usual manner of speaking around Yuuji.

Yuuji, despite the offer, remained silent, frowning pensively at nothing in particular.

Kalawarner lifted herself quietly onto her desk, seating herself more comfortably as she waited for her student to speak.

"It's… Akeno and Rias."

"Oh, what about them?"

As Yuuji went silent once more, Kalawarner nudged things along a little.

"I'm well aware that they've recently resolved certain… issues."

Kalawarner began, faint pink dusting her cheeks.

 _Everyone_ in the dorm was aware.

Akeno would only smile and titter if asked, and Rias would only offer a feeble whisper of 'Yuuji is rubbing off on her'.

There was not a single resident of the dorm with the courage to inquire further.

"... So then, is there something else that I'm unaware of?"

"It's not them, it's me."

Another long silence, but she didn't really mind.

Yuuji just _asking_ for advice was a huge step as it was, and Kalawarner was deeply honored that it was _her_ he'd gone to.

She'd offer all the time he could possibly need.

"I… I don't know if I can do this."

"Clarify for me, please?"

She knew him well enough that a mere lack of resolve wasn't the issue.

"I…"

Yuuji trailed off with a frustrated sigh, struggling with the words.

Smiling gently, Kalawarner waited for him to continue.

It was important to let him form the thought himself, after all.

"I barely know how to keep myself happy and stable. How am I supposed to maintain a relationship with not one, but two other girls when I can barely maintain myself?"

"That's simple, Yuuji-sama."

A profoundly skeptical look was his response.

The beauty pushed on, unconcerned.

"You can't."

"... I'm supposed to be the pessimist."

"Indeed you are, but that is not the point here."

Kalawarner explained primly, accepting the boy's scowl with indifference.

"The point is, Yuuji-sama, that _you_ are not the one responsible for 'maintaining' any part of your relationship, not alone at least. It's true that the potential for friction might increase as the number of involved people increases, but so to will the number of people who can seek a solution to said friction."

He knew this already, of that she was certain.

Kazami Yuuji was most certainly a pragmatist, one who could view any sort of problem with merciless neutrality.

The only flaw in this detached point of view was the unfortunate reality that the one he would always doubt the most deeply, always judge the most harshly, was himself.

In other words, it was not that his lack of knowledge needed to be corrected, more so that the knowledge needed to be offered from a _trusted viewpoint_.

"Attempting to do everything on your own will accomplish nothing. With that knowledge in mind, the heart of the matter, I believe, is that you view that as some sort of failure. Thus, a part of you doubts that you're equal to the task at hand."

Yuuji watched her intently, a glimmer of understanding in his gaze.

"Simply put, Yuuji-sama, that part of you needs to know that deciding whether you're 'worthy' or not _is no business of yours_."

Much to her sorrow, Kalawarner was fully aware that speaking more harshly than she'd prefer was not just something Yuuji could easily handle, but something vital for making her point.

She owed it to him to make the effort, no matter how uncomfortable it made her feel.

No, she owed him far, far more than that.

Yuuji drifted off into yet another long silence, but this time, she sighed an internal sigh of relief at how his demeanor presented this pause as a thoughtful one, rather than troubled.

"Sorry Kala, I think I'm just overthinking things."

She shook her head in gentle denial.

"No, while I think that perhaps you took those thoughts too far this time, I think that having these concerns in the first place speaks well of you."

Yuuji tilted his head in puzzlement.

"That you struggle with these thoughts simple provides evidence of the value you place upon your relationships. I have every confidence that the effort you put in will not go unnoticed, nor will it go unappreciated."

After all, _she_ was certainly noticing.

She knew that she'd succeeded in her task when the tiny smile that crept across his face was not the casual half-smirk he was known for, but something far more rare and far, far more genuine.

That flutter in her heart was coincidence, surely.

"Yeah, okay. I think I needed that."

Unaware of the effect it was having, Kazami Yuuji smiled at the lovely woman before him.

"Thank you, Kalawarner."

"... Any time, Yuuji-sama."

* * *

Beyond Yuuji's struggles to come to terms with a practice frowned upon in most _human_ countries, the weeks following the battle had been rather quiet.

Akeno had gotten over the worst of her phantom regression much earlier than expected, at least to the point where a wheelchair was no longer necessary.

Several days after that point, she even managed to convince _Rias_ of that fact.

Spring uniforms were dug out of closets, or in the case of several of the household, fitted and ordered for the first time.

Akeno seemed oddly enamored with Yuuji's 'higher exposure rate' - short sleeves rather than a blazer.

When the Gremory Pawn took it upon himself to point out that this was still less exposure than she experienced on a regular basis, being that they slept naked, he was promptly told to stop being silly.

Though, truthfully Yuuji was a bit grateful that he could still wear short sleeves to begin with. His metal arm would be a bit awkward to explain if it wasn't glamered to feel and appear as if it were still flesh and blood.

Come to think of it, he might have to ask Akeno for a few more of those enchantments later on.

Swim classes would start shortly, as the pool was outdoors, and he'd rather not have to choose between getting exempted from lessons, or coming up with a reasonable excuse for his bullet/knife scars.

Though, at least right now he was among friends, and didn't have to worry.

The swimming pool, despite how well-off Kuoh Academy was, did not, in fact, clean itself.

With that in mind, Rias had volunteered the ORC to take care of the task on the Student Council's behalf, an act of gratitude for their assistance during the attack on Kuoh.

That, and she'd also gotten the promise from Sona that after cleaning said pool, they could enjoy it freely for the day.

Which was probably the more important takeaway there.

The women of the dorm had all gone on a joint shopping trip to purchase swimsuits, and the looks they'd given him upon their return had made Yuuji very, very curious.

So that was the trail of events that led to him scrubbing the bottom of the pool, with a long-handled brush, not too distant from a smiling Kiba and a softly humming Kalawarner.

Their club supervisor wasn't really expected to get her hands dirty with her students, but Kalawarner had a soft spot for mundane tasks such as these.

In fact, she was the one who organized cleaning duties for the dorm, assigning as many as she could feasibly manage to herself, so in the end, no one had the heart to suggest she supervise like she was supposed to.

Yuuji, Kiba, Xenovia and Koneko had been assigned to join her in scrubbing the moss from the floor, while Rias, Akeno, Raynare, Asia, and Ruth were spraying down walls.

Suu was helping too, but being how she was capable of imitating a fire-hose whenever the fancy struck her, she had an entire wall to clean to herself.

She had cheerfully offered to 'make it all clean', but such a thing was sternly forbidden by an affronted Sensei, who viewed it as cheating.

The ORC had a good work ethic across the board, so not a single one of them had given voice to the fact that let alone Suu, at least half of them could complete the chore with a snap of their fingers.

Kalawarner had, however, relented to give Akeno permission to fill the pool itself with magic, as such a task merely took time, rather than effort, to complete in the mundane manner.

The pool was not so large that 11 people couldn't complete it in a timely fashion (regardless of whether said people were supernatural entities), so soon enough, a black-haired Nadeshiko stood poised on the tip of one of the small diving boards, one hand outstretched into the air.

With a sound just like waves crashing against a rocky shore, a deluge of sparkling clean water dumped itself from a sparkling yellow Gremory sigil, in the air above the pool.

Her task done, Akeno strut her way back towards the others as if traversing a catwalk, rather than a diving board, to the playful clapping of her fellows and a teasing catcall from Raynare.

* * *

A smiling Akeno, perhaps not ready to give up the runway vibes from earlier, was the first to saunter her way out from the girls change room, a playful swing in her hips and a gorgeous pink and purple bikini gracing her form.

Her chest was contained by slender triangles of fabric that wrapped around from below and reached up towards each other, bound together by a soft silver ring. Attached to the upper curve of the ring, thin strings reached their way up, to be tied together at the back of a pale white neck.

The bikini bottom followed a similar theme, but with an asymmetrical design, a silver ring connecting front and back on one side, while a slender strip of fabric rode high on her left hip.

Her widening smile when he offered his opinion, Yuuji felt, only served to make Akeno appear even more radiant than before.

A chuckle slipped out as Akeno seated herself beside him, eagerly awaiting the next entry with a twinkle in her eye.

"Didn't you already see them?"

"Hush you."

Rias was the next to appear, a confident smile on her face and heavy-lidded, azure eyes smoldering deeply into his own.

Her choice was a dazzling white string bikini, trios of slender golden rings linking the thin strings together.

Her sultry air was replaced by a girlish enthusiasm as Yuuji complimented her, before a hesitant voice drew his attention to the next girl to arrive.

Fidgeting and nervously trying to meet his gaze, Asia stood there in the navy blue of her school swimsuit.

More casual swimsuits had been too high a hurdle for the sheltered little Bishop.

"I changed as well, Y-Yuuji-san… does it look…?"

"Yeah, it suits you Asia. Very cute."

"Hehe~."

Asia's bashful laughter was accompanied with a beaming smile that Yuuji really felt should come with a warning of some kind.

So that he had time to prepare his heart.

From behind her, a slightly red-cheeked Koneko, also in her school swimsuit, had slipped out at some point, regarding him with one eye.

Not wanting to draw attention to the shy Rook, Yuuji simply smiled and gave her a surreptitious thumbs-up.

The red deepened in hue, but the tiny smile that accompanied it suggested his choice had been the correct one.

"Hey Yuuji-kun, how do I look?"

With a playful twirl, Raynare came out next, in a string bikini colored with the deep blue of the ocean.

Whereas Rias wore smooth fabric, Raynare's had a layered, ruffled design on the bikini top.

"Like you're going to slip and fall. Don't spin around by the pool."

"Ah, geez! That's not what I meant Yuuji-kun!"

Raynare puffed out her cheeks in protest.

"By the way, 'Yuuma'."

Yuuji continued with a smirk, as if he hadn't heard.

"You look beautiful."

Eyes widening just a touch, Raynare preened at the praise, swaying her hips as a giddy smile bloomed across her face.

"Having fun, are we?"

Kalawarner asked, smiling fondly as she stood with her weight shifted to one side, and a hand on her hip, a pair of sunglasses resting elegantly on her head.

Kalawarner had dressed herself somewhat more modestly than most of the girls, perhaps due to the fact that she was technically here as a supervising teacher.

That being said, this was Kalawarner. Modesty could only do so much for the most beautiful, and well-endowed, teacher that Kuoh Academy had ever seen.

Her tight, one-piece swimsuit was black with a pair of green racing stripes tracing from the bottom of the suit to the underside of her breasts.

From there, the swimsuit narrowed slightly as it reached up to the high collar, leaving the front of her cleavage fully covered, but a hint of the sides exposed.

In contrast to the high neckline, her swimsuit was backless, and at the bottom, rose high enough on her hips to leave them mostly bare.

When Yuuji met her eyes, she offered a small smile and shook her head gently.

Yuuji decided to acquiesce for now, knowing that she had wanted him to keep silent for propriety's sake, but also fully aware that she enjoyed being complimented on her looks just as much as any girl.

Well, he was good at waiting… and surprise attacks.

Kalawarner's eyes narrowed warily as the boy smirked in response, but in the end she said nothing.

* * *

"Yeah, just like that Koneko, keep it up."

Yuuji was currently holding Koneko's hands and slowly walking backwards in the water as she paddled her feet.

Koneko didn't know how to swim, and thus Rias had asked for Yuuji's assistance in the matter.

Asia couldn't swim either, and so some distance away, a gently smiling Raynare offered the same treatment.

"... Sorry for having you help me out, Senpai."

"I don't mind. The one you should really thank is Buchou though, for making her instructions clear."

Koneko stared quizzically at him for a moment before cluing in.

"How did you learn to swim, Senpai?"

"Air and water."

"... You were thrown in?"

"To a lake, yes."

"Ah, well I prefer this way."

"I can imagine."

"... Though I don't think Yuuji-senpai would have thrown me in like that."

"No?"

"No, Senpai is very gentle."

"Is he now? I'd like to meet this guy."

A pair of small smiles were exchanged as Yuuji's back came to rest against the pools edge.

Before he could begin to turn them around for another lap, Koneko interrupted his train of thought with a soft admonishment.

"Grip is a little tight, Senpai."

Her casual tone suggested the powerful Rook wasn't really inconvenienced by that fact.

"Ah, sorry… looks like it's stuck. Mind giving me a hand?"

A small nod in response.

What Koneko was referring to was his metallic right arm, which seemed to be acting up.

As Yuuji released his grip on Koneko's hand with his left hand, he dropped it around her waist as Koneko reached over to the other arm.

Normally, Yuuji would pry his own hand loose, but Koneko was too short to touch the bottom of the pool.

A quick, gentle pull freed the tiny Rook's hand, and Yuuji smoothly transitioned to scoop his arms under her shoulders, Koneko letting out a surprised little 'eep' as Yuuji seated her on the pools edge, before twisting to prop himself up beside her.

"Sorry about that, take a little break and I'll be back in a few, alright?"

"Sure, Senpai."

"You okay, Yuuji-kun?"

Raynare called over her shoulder, closer to the middle of the pool with Asia.

"Yeah, arm's just a little stiff."

Akeno had taken note as well, having slipped off the pool chair she was reclining on, and beginning to make her way over.

Rias had paused on the diving platform she stood on, watching him in concern.

When Akeno reached him, he offered his King a nod before stepping away.

Content the matter was handled, Rias dove beneath the waters surface with barely a ripple.

* * *

As usual, she was having too much fun with this.

To be fair though, compared to the robe she liked to wear for the 'ritual', Akeno's swimsuit actually offered better coverage, due to not being transparent.

"Hmm, think I'm good now. Thanks for that, Akeno."

With a contented hum, Akeno let his finger slide from her lips, running her tongue across them while gazing deeply into his eyes.

Offering his other hand, Yuuji pulled her off her knees and to her feet, a motion which Akeno continued until she was sitting on his lap, straddling him and draping her bare arms across his shoulders.

"Mm, thanks for the treat."

"I don't really get the appeal of sucking on a piece of iron, but as long as you're happy?"

"It's the most Yuuji I can have at school without being scolded by Sensei, so I quite like it. And it's something that just you and I can do, so that's a big bonus too."

"Can't Rias do the ritual as well?"

"Mhm, she can, but it's not as efficient that way."

Yuuji cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Has to happen more often if it's her, haven't you noticed?"

Yuuji frowned off to one side, trying to recall.

"*Sigh* no, I suppose you wouldn't. It's not a matter of skill, it's a matter of affinity. Metal conducts electricity, no? By that same logic, Metal is easy to convert into Lightning, just like, for example, Wood absorbs Water. So the high compatibility of our elements provides the best possible results. Rias is a little different, since her Destruction isn't precisely an element."

"When you put it that way, it kind of makes it sound like I'm your own personal lightning rod."

That was the right thing to say, because a set of beautiful violet eyes lit up with excitement and a note of happiness slipped from between smiling lips.

"Ooh… now isn't that a _lovely_ image~. Oh, but it seems that metal isn't the only _hard_ , _stiff_ thing around here."

"You say that, but something tells me you're at least as turned on as I am."

"At least~."

"Down girl. The teacher on duty throws light spears instead of erasers."

"I'll keep my voice down?"

"That's an entirely inappropriate use of fluttering eyelashes."

"Hmm, but I could have _sworn_ I just felt a little twitch."

Yuuji shrugged his shoulders, not even bothering to deny the words of the beautiful girl subtly, slowly grinding on his lap.

Rather, he offered her an inviting smile, and coated the tip of an iron index finger in a thin layer of frost.

Just as a pair of plump, full lips were leaning in to heat things up a little further, Yuuji ran his finger up a length of exposed skin, tracing the soft bumps of a delicate spine.

The shriek that was heard by all brought a smug smirk to Yuuji's face.

Akeno's adorable pouting face was just icing on the cake.

* * *

There was a certain irony to be found, he supposed, in the fact that he'd successfully defused a boiling mass of sexual tension, only to end up with a woman moaning underneath him anyways.

Not that Yuuji was intending to complain, because applying suntan lotion was a valid reason for pretty girls to remove their tops, for reasons that wouldn't draw Sensei's ire.

Kalawarner had been a good sport about it too, ignoring the fact that Devils and Fallen Angels were immune to sunburn, in favor of joining the queue.

Yuuji, being well-trained, had naturally included a massage in the process of applying the lotion, and after leaving Akeno and Rias in boneless, blissful heaps one after another, had moved onto his Sensei.

Most of Kalawarner's back was exposed to begin with, while her collar, at the back of the neck was where the swimsuit was fastened, with a trio of subtle clips.

Yuuji appreciated the easy access, in more ways than one.

If asked if he was sorry for what he was about to do, the answer would have been a resounding 'no'.

It really was for a good cause, but he'd be lying if he said the immoral edge of doing 'that' to a teacher didn't appeal to every sadistic bone in his body.

Which were all of them, for the record.

"Hey, Sensei, could I ask you a favor?"

"Hmm…? Go ahead, Kazami-kun."

"Ah, thanks Sensei."

Yuuji knew full well that that was permission to ask, rather than _act_ , but close enough.

"See, after playi- helping with Buchou and Akeno-san, I've noticed that Devils seem to have quite a buildup of tension right around where their wings unfurl. Since Fallen Angels have larger wings in proportion to their bodies, I imagine the problem could be worse. So I need a volunteer to help out with…"

"... Kazami-san?"

Came the hesitant inquiry.

" _This."_

Yuuji pushed down with both thumbs, just between the shoulder blades.

A slender hand snapped over Kalawarner's mouth to muffle the long, sensual moan that slipped out.

"Ahh~ Y-Yuuji-sama… that… n-not-"

The jolt that coursed through her cut off what she was about to say.

"Sorry Sensei, what was that?"

The muffling hand slipped down from her lips as she twisted her head his direction to glare reproachfully up at him.

That was the plan, at least.

"Huh, yeah, you're really stiff Sensei. Could be bad if we don't get all these knots out."

Yuuji continued on in an even tone that carried not the slightest hint of mercy.

This wasn't exactly a premeditated act.

Yuuji had simply noticed that Rias seemed to have less tension back there than Akeno, and he didn't think the difference was bust size, even if Akeno was bigger by a few centimeters.

That, and the tension in Akeno's back was slightly lopsided.

Her left wing was the one with the feathers, and by Akeno's own admission was heavier than the Devil wing on the right.

Coincidentally, she'd had to work harder than most to master flight.

So he really was serious when he said that the heavier wings of the Fallen Angels were a concern of his.

It's just that his concerns, and his 'mild' sadistic tendencies were entirely separate matters.

The fact that Kalawarner had the sexiest voice out of any woman he knew was also probably irrelevant.

Meanwhile, the quivering woman beneath him had quickly abandoned protests or admonishments in favor of muffling a voice she no longer had any control over.

Truthfully, despite the fact that Yuuji was seated on her lower back, Kalawarner could have easily freed herself had she the presence of mind to do so.

She was a lot stronger than he was, after all, and it wasn't as if he was _trying_ to keep her pinned.

"You know, I can stop if you'd like."

From beneath the hands (she was using both of them now) that covered her mouth, Kalawarner managed to grit out.

"Don't be… mean… Yuuji-sama."

" I see, I see. Well, might as well finish things up."

"W-wait a moment-!"

Slipped out the panicked voice in the instant before Yuuji hit the sweet spot.

At the muffled wail, several heads snapped their direction, and Rias let out a groan of protest as dark wings unfurled and knocked her onto her side.

A bit of drool slipped from between clenched fingers before Kalawarner slumped, panting raggedly as her wings dropped limply to the ground.

"You'll get weird tan-lines if you leave those out."

"*Hah* *Hah* Is that… all you have to say for yourself…?"

"Sorry, might have gone a little too far there. Didn't plan to make your wings pop out."

"You… knew how…?"

"Let's just say I've experimented a little, but maybe not enough."

Kala didn't know about Akeno's half-Fallen heritage, and it wasn't his place to tell.

"To a… teacher…"

"Rest for now, Sensei. I'll be gentle."

After all, leaving a job half-finished wasn't something that Kazami Yuuji did.

He'd just try not to stimulate any more erogenous zones while he finished his job.

That day would mark the first time that Kazami Yuuji began to wonder if he was turning into a playboy.

* * *

Akeno and Rias were still sunbathing alongside Kalawarner and Raynare, and with the exception of Kalawarner (for the time being), had dozed off in the warm sun.

Koneko and Asia, worn out from the swimming lessons were sleeping beneath the shade of a parasol.

Koneko was using a chair, Asia was using Suu, the Slime doubling as a water-bed and a cuddle-buddy.

Freed from the valiant struggle that was keeping Suu from distracted from molesting any of the wet, scantily clad women, Ruth, in his human form, was swimming laps in the lane beside Kiba.

Yuuji was sitting some distance away from the sleeping girls, and had been reading a book in the shade.

That was until Xenovia came down to quietly sit beside him.

She'd taken longer than the other girls to change, never having worn anything like the skimpy green and gold bikini currently adorning her athletic form, and had then spent the bulk of her free time swimming laps.

Yuuji had the distinct impression she had something to say, but hadn't the faintest clue as to when she was going to say it.

"Put me in the queue."

"No, even if you say it with such conviction I'm still not going to get it."

"I was just going to take the chance to seduce you while I was wearing my swimsuit, but I think that would cause more problems than it would solve."

Xenovia 'clarified'.

Kalawarner, now fully awake, choked on air and pushed herself upright, forgetting in her surprise that she was still topless.

"Thanks for the treat, Sensei."

Yuuji said, giving her a thumbs up.

A few puzzled seconds later, the Sensei in question slowly turned away, head twisted to conceal reddened cheeks and avoid eye contact, and arms crossed in a largely futile attempt to conceal her assets.

"... Anyways, what was this about a queue?"

Xenovia, who had been observing their antics patiently, nodded once and continued her explanation.

"Akeno has things quite well-planned out, and I feel like messing up the order will make a lot of people angry. I'd prefer to do get things out of the way as soon as possible, but we have plenty of time as Devils so I can afford to wait a month or two."

"That doesn't explain anything."

"No?"

Xenovia tilted her head to one side, looking as confused as he felt.

Crossing one arm under her breasts and resting her chin on the fist of the other, Xenovia sat with a soft frown on her face, silent as she pondered.

"... Oh, that should work."

"I can't wait."

Yuuji grit out, eyebrow twitching.

"I want to have your babies."

Kalawarner, who by now, had recovered both her wits and her modesty, was struck with another inexplicable coughing fit.

"Hah?"

"Yes, I've decided I want to succeed as a woman, since I can no longer succeed as an Exorcist."

"Which means babies."

Yuuji clarified, as the twitching intensified.

Xenovia nodded vigorously, a pleased, almost smug smile on her face, and her arms crossed.

"Yes, and since I want children, it only makes sense to have strong ones, and you're the strongest male Devil I have yet to meet."

"... Your sample size needs work."

A puzzled frown appeared on Xenovia face.

"You think so? I considered looking for a Longinus, but reliability is important as well."

"Your sample size _really_ needs work."

As a much confused Xenovia tried to puzzle out Yuuji's meaning, and the boy in question gripped the bridge of his nose to ward off the headache he felt coming on, Kalawarner cleared her throat, cheeks still a bit rosy.

"I believe, Xenovia-san, that your timing could be better… though I appreciate that you at least showed _some_ level of restraint."

"Thanks, Sensei. I don't suppose you understood what Yuuji was trying to say."

"I think the point was that you might be rushing things a little… And what was that about 'waiting a month or two'?"

"Oh, do you think it will take longer than that? I was trying to estimate based off of the gap between Akeno and Rias forming a relationship with Yuuji. I did try to factor in the possibility of a shorter time frame, assuming no emergencies or obligations rear their heads."

"... I see the logic."

Though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Oi."

"Yes, Yuuji?"

Xenovia dutifully turned her attention back to him.

"It's been less than a month since I carried you through town over one shoulder. And now you want to skip straight to the baby-making phase?"

"Ah, so it is too soon. I didn't really expect that, we'll have to give the timeline more thought."

"... Yeah, I've got nothing. Sensei, help me out."

"There are some requests you shouldn't use that title for, Yuuji-sama."

With a tired sigh, Kalawarner shifted into a sitting position on her recliner, crossing one leg over the other.

Xenovia tucked her legs beneath her and twisted around to face the Fallen Angel, sitting seiza on her own recliner.

"Xenovia-san, while I don't find any fault in your choice of partners, I still believe you are rushing things rather excessively. You've been a Devil for less than a month, and I'm sure that there have been more than a few _drastic_ changes to your life, even without taking your former profession into account."

Xenovia conceded the point with a shrug.

"So I would sincerely advise against making any life altering decisions so quickly, especially when you have, with luck on your side, several _millennia_ to make such decisions, rather than the several decades a human woman would remain fertile for."

"Is that how long Devils live?"

Xenovia inquired, Yuuji leaning forward curiously as Kalawarner adopted a lecturing tone with her students.

"No one knows for certain, but it's not unheard of. Do understand, whether Devil, or Fallen, or Angel, there has never been a death from old age. Barring a violent end that I deeply hope neither of you fall victim to, there is simply no way to tell if growing too old is even possible."

"Huh, I never really thought of that."

Yuuji commented, aware that his teacher had shifted to addressing both of them.

"Indeed, and it is not likely to be something you need ever concern you. The point being, that you have ample time to consider what it is you want from your new life. I am not suggesting that each decision you make must be agonized over for years on end, but please, do not try to rush things. It would be all too easy to form _regrets_ that will last you centuries."

As she finished her lesson, Kalawarner's expression grew distant, hazel eyes staring at a faraway vision that only she could see.

The trio sat in silence for a while, each alone with their thoughts.

"Ah, but do not misunderstand. While I do wish you would consider the long term to some degree, there is a certain charm to acting young and _impulsive_."

Almost as if by coincidence, one of Kalawarner's slender arms crossed underneath her chest, forcing it upwards with an impossible to ignore bounce.

Yuuji wondered if he was supposed to say 'thank you' once more.

* * *

"Excuse me, Yuuji-san."

A hesitant little tug on his sleeve accompanied the faint words, in the classroom a few days after their poolside escapades.

"What is it, Asia?"

"Well, if you're not busy, that is…"

Asia squirmed nervously, her head ducked as she peeked towards him.

Raynare, Kalawarner and Xenovia were all watching him, from their respective desks, as if carefully waiting for his answer.

"Breaks almost over, but I can make time if I need to."

Asia shook her head from side to side.

"N-no… it's for after school if you're not busy… could you…?"

"Come with you?"

He guessed.

Asia gave a tiny nod.

"Please. W-we're ready."

Yuuji kept his silence, gazing blankly at her as he waited for her to speak.

"We're ready to… say goodbye."

Nothing more than a timid little whisper.

That was enough.

"I'll go with you then, if you want."

"Please."

He couldn't quite be sure, but Yuuji didn't think Asia's was the only voice asking.

* * *

The bell rang, signalling the end of the day, and an increase to the heaviness in the air.

"I'd prefer to walk if that's… okay?"

" I don't mind, Asia."

Kiba, rather than head over towards their desks like normal, gave Yuuji a small nod and an understanding smile, sparing the girls a lingering glance before he rose from his seat and left.

Raynare rose slowly from her seat, stepping over to gently clasp one of Asia's hands, helping the girl stand with a soft smile on her face.

Xenovia stood as well, placing one hand on the little Bishop's shoulder, a small frown in place of her normal blank expression.

The four of them filtered out the classroom, Kalawarner waving them on as she finished arranging the stack of papers on her desk.

Waiting for them at the gate were the other Devils of the ORC, and before any words were exchanged, Rias stepped forward to gently embrace each of them in turn.

When it came to Yuuji's turn, she whispered softly in his ear.

"Take care of them, please."

"Count on me."

Shortly after, Kalawarner joined them at the gate, quietly slipping in beside Raynare.

Due to Kalawarner's position at the school, Rias settled for softly clasping hands with the older woman, her warm smile tinged with a melancholy air.

The Fallen Angel teacher, with a brief nod, offered a subdued smile of her own in return.

While Akeno was following a similar pattern, Yuuji reached out through the Familiar Link.

{ Hey, Ruth. Mind bringing Suu and meeting up with us?}

{"On it. Anything I should be worried about?"}

{ The girls are ready to say goodbye.}

{"Ah… see you soon, then."}

His task done, Yuuji tapped Akeno on the shoulder, allowing the Queen to begin breaking the group hug that had formed.

While the younger girls untangled themselves, Yuuji let his eyes drift to the woman standing stoically off to the side.

Kalawarner nodded once, and away they went, leaving Rias, Akeno, Kiba and Koneko behind.

Idly, Yuuji wondered if a sunny day was supposed to be fitting weather.

* * *

Their end destination was an old abandoned church, the one where he and a few others had first encountered Valper Galilei and Kokabiel, what seemed like so long ago.

The building was missing an entire wall, and much of the roof, due to the battle that had followed said encounter, but the inner sanctum was still free of the elements.

Kneeling before the dusty wooden altar were a quartet of beautiful young women, their heads bowed and their hands clasped.

With arms around the little blonde girl near the center, a girl with a translucent blue, gooey form, and a bright yellow raincoat, sat quietly, watery green eyes focussed solely on the girl in her arms, confusion and worry evident in her troubled grimace.

Sitting in guard of the silent women was a dark haired young man, one hand resting on the head of the great black hound seated at his side.

* * *

 _Thank you God, for watching over me. Thank you for bringing me to people who love me, and cherish me._

 _Thank you for Raynare and Kalawarner. Maybe they're not the kind of Angels You normally send…_

 _But they're more than enough for me._

 _Thank You for Rias, who gave me a new life._

 _Thank You for Akeno, who fills the room with happiness, even when she doesn't feel it herself._

 _Thank You for Kiba, who always has a smile, just for me._

 _Thank You for Koneko, who always offers comfort, without even a word._

 _Thank You for Ruth, who chases the sadness away, wherever he finds it._

 _Thank You for my dear Suu, who even now wraps around me to make everything okay._

 _And thank you for Yuuji, dear Lord._

 _Thank you for the one who gave me, gave_ us _a home and never asked for anything in return._

 _Please, oh Lord._

 _He doesn't know how to ask… and probably wouldn't if he did._

 _But please. Watch over him, and help him find the happiness he seeks._

 _And… thank You for everything._

 _I don't think I'll ever be ready to move on completely, and I wish more than anything that I could meet You one day…_

 _But, God…_

 _I'll be okay._

A single tear trickled down a pale cheek, and a watery blue cheek pressed up against it.

{ "Asia… Okay?"}

A worried voice rippled gently through her head.

"Yes Suu…"

Came the faint, barely audible whisper, as she lifted her arms to return the embrace.

"I'll be okay."

* * *

 _Most of us never get to see Your face._

 _Guess we're no different from the humans in the end, huh?_

 _Even still, I miss You, so, so much, even if we never met._

 _Part of me wishes You were at least around to watch when my wings dyed black, and Home was lost to me forever._

 _Maybe I just wish You kicked me out Yourself._

… _I found a new home now, and a new family._

 _I've also found..._

… _Wherever You are, I just wanted You to know._

 _That I'm sorry._

 _That I'll be fine without You._

… _That I still love You, Father._

A single tear trickled down from a violet eye.

* * *

 _How much of my life was a lie?_

 _How long did I fight for something that didn't even exist anymore?_

 _We were told that only You had the right to judge…_

 _But You were gone long before I ever picked up a sword._

 _So who did the judging?_

 _Was it the people I followed…_

 _Or is that just the excuse I tell myself?_

 _I don't know, and maybe it doesn't matter._

 _But I don't blame You._

 _I still believe in the world You created._

 _Even if the Heaven You left behind is further from reach than ever._

 _I'll keep fighting._

 _I'll find something new to fight for._

 _I'll find new things to believe in._

 _But I'll never forget You._

 _Not even for a second._

 _I think that…_

 _Maybe, I have a new family now._

… _Is that something You'd be proud of, Lord?_

Another tear fell.

* * *

 _I don't know what to feel._

 _Perhaps it doesn't matter._

 _Perhaps it never did._

 _I know who I am, I know what I've done._

 _I failed_ them, _I failed You._

 _I'll bear the mark of that failure forever._

 _But…_

 _I found them, Father._

 _Children who need me._

 _A family that needs me._

 _I was rescued, I was saved just when I was ready to give up on everything._

 _Perhaps the cause was the blood on his hands, but he hardly noticed the blood on mine._

 _He reached out to someone that no one else would._

 _Is that how You used to do it?_

 _Is that how they see You?_

 _I suppose I'll never know._

 _But there's one thing I do know._

 _I'm home, Father._

 _And no matter what it takes…_

 **_I'll never fail them again._ **

One more tear fell, and a set of great black wings enveloped kneeling forms and drew them close.

A quiet sniffle prodded against the silence, and soon the silence shattered beneath once buried grief.

Before long, a single, mournful howl bared a grief of its own.

The one who brought them together, and watched over them even now, observed in silence.

Perhaps one day, he'd discover how many of the prayers were for him.

* * *

"Akeno-san, Akeno-san."

"Yes, Yuuji-kun?"

"What is Buchou doing?"

"I believe that's referred to as 'worrying'."

"Ah, that explains it. Thank you, Akeno-san."

"Anytime, Yuuji-kun~."

"I can hear you two, you know."

"Ufufu~."

"So Rias, what's got you all worked up?"

Yuuji inquired dutifully, sitting up in bed.

"Classroom visits are tomorrow!"

"... And?"

"Onii-sama's going to be here!"

"Oh yeah, the Sis-con."

"Isn't there- No, no that's probably the important thing to remember, isn't it."

Akeno mused, absent-mindedly rubbing one bare leg against Yuuji's as she laid beside him.

"... Huh. Do you think I should have told JB?"

"You should have, yes, but no one expected you to so I told her weeks ago so she could book the time off."

Akeno patiently explained, while Rias continued to pace and fret.

"Weeks ago?"

"You weren't even out of the hospital."

"That so? Thanks, Akeno."

"You're welcome, Yuuji."

"..."

"..."

"The part of me that wants to tell her to stop pacing is being overruled by the part that's never seen pacing done in the nude."

Yuuji admitted.

"Right!?"

"I can still hear you!"

Rias exclaimed, ceasing her pacing in favor of stomping her foot, unwittingly making the show even better.

Yuuji and Akeno both suppressed twitching hands and the urge to applaud.

"... Rias, calm down. We'll be just fine."

"Calm!? How can I be calm!? I have to keep my stupid Onii-sama from putting recordings of 'Ria-tan's first words' on the PDA!"

… How exactly was he supposed to respond to that?

Akeno lifted herself up to whisper in his ear, just loud enough for Rias to catch.

"Freshman year, first time anyone's had to hypnotize the _entire_ student body."

"They should have hypnotized me too!"

Rias cried out, gripping the side of her head in frustration.

Akeno giggled, and Rias swooped past the bed long enough to grab a pillow to throw at her.

"... A visit from family huh? Sounds kind of nice."

Yuuji mused, neither paying attention to the pillow-fight that ensued, nor realizing that he was musing out loud.

Belatedly, Yuuji tuned back into the world around him to find both women staring at him and shifting about awkwardly.

"What?"

* * *

"Oh, fancy meeting you here, Rias."

"O-O-Onii-sama!?"

The members of the ORC had just entered the old school building, and entered the clubroom, only to find a handsome red-haired man who looked remarkably similar to Rias, if a bit older, sitting on one of the couches, with a beautiful silver-haired maid standing behind and off to one side.

Before they'd opened the door, he'd been happily chatting away with the lovely, smiling blonde woman in a suit and skirt combo.

The man in question held out his hand to stop them before they could drop to a knee, and-

"Hi Hi, Yuuji-kun!"

The blonde chirped, waving enthusiastically at Yuuji.

"Oh, hey Grayfia, what are you doing here?"

"-Gah!? Ignored!?"

The blonde slumped in her seat as if dealt a fatal blow.

"Greetings Kazami-sama. Maou-sama wished to meet with your King, and so we've been waiting on your arrival. Pardon the intrusion."

"Oh yeah, Sirzechs is here too."

The man in question chuckled merrily, not at all minding being snubbed.

"I'll seriously cry you know!?"

JB took things a bit worse.

As Rias was still recovering from her own shock, Yuuji slowly turned his head to the pouty blonde and smiled.

"It's good to see you, JB."

"Hmph."

JB puffed out her cheeks and turned her head away, but not quite far enough that Yuuji couldn't see the smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"To what may I owe the pleasure, Lucifer-sama?"

Rias asked coldly, arms folded as the rest of the group trickled past her, Akeno and Asia detouring towards the side-kitchen.

"Ah, Ria-tan is mad at me. What should I do, Grayfia?"

"Call ahead before you visit?"

"But her surprised face is so cute."

Sirzechs protested, as if Grayfia was being unreasonable.

Rias stomped her foot angrily, her cold veneer discarded in favor of acting her age. With a huff, she strode across the room and took a seat, arms crossed in irritation.

"Classroom visits are tomorrow, so I thought it would be wise to touch bases and confirm the schedule. Also, doing it in person allows me to skip paperwork."

Calmly, Grayfia shifted so that she was standing directly behind him, and began to tug harshly on both of Lucifer's cheeks, her eyes closed in a silent display of irritation.

"Ouch Ouch! N-no it was a joke, I mean I wanted to visit early! The paperwork is done!"

The room winced as the Satan's cheeks were released with an audible snap.

Grayfia smiled primly, as if she was unaware of what had just occurred. With expert timing, Akeno appeared then with Asia at her side, serving tea from silver trays.

"Ah, thank you Akeno-chan."

Sirzechs accepted the tea with an easy smile, the redness on his cheeks rapidly fading.

"But hang on! You're a Maou! You can't spend so much time on a single Devil, even if she is your sister!"

Rias exclaimed, sounding just a little desperate.

"Actually, my business here is the business of the Underworld. The classroom visits just happen to make things easier. Father doesn't have that excuse, but then again, he doesn't need it."

"Otou-sama as well? And what's this about Underworld business?"

"We're considering the school as the location for the peace conference."

"... Peace conference?"

Someone asked.

"Yes, between the three Biblical factions. This place is one of the more high profile locations for our factions now, after all. Not one, but two siblings of the ruling Satans, Fallen Angels attending and even teaching peacefully among them, along with the wielder of the Holy Sword Durandal. This place, furthermore was the site of the event that served as the _final wake-up call_."

"Kokabiel…"

Rias muttered, a blue eyes taking on a glacial chill.

"Indeed, if he had succeeded in his insanity, the result would have been a war that likely none of us would survive. Even for those lucky enough to do so, we are far from the only power with an interest in the human world, or the Underworld for that matter. We can no longer afford to keep old grievances between us."

The room went quiet, pondering the implications.

Yuuji, for his part, allowed his gaze to fall on the only pair of Fallen Angels in the room.

Yeah, peace was probably better.

"With that in mind, I intend to inspect the location ahead of time, as well as gain the cooperation of the overseers responsible. I'll be consulting with Miss Sitri as well. I also wished to meet some of the new additions face to face, if it's not too much trouble?"

Sirzechs swept his gaze across Raynare, Kalawarner, and Xenovia in turn.

"Yes, to think that the wielder of the Holy Sword Durandal had found a place among my sister's peerage. In any case, it is a pleasure to meet you, Xenovia Quarta."

"Lucifer, is it? Never thought I'd meet a Satan on friendly terms."

Blunt as always, Xenovia still managed to look faintly disbelieving of the words slipping from her own mouth.

"Understandable. Truthfully, I doubted my eyes when I first read the report."

"It doesn't quite feel real yet, belonging to the side that I've been killing until now. Sometimes I wonder if I made the choice to become a Devil too soon, and sometimes I don't even know why I made it. Even for me, it was quite the bold and impulsive mood. Maybe I was desperate?"

Deep in thought, the rest of the room already forgotten, Xenovia crossed her arms, staring at the floor.

Privately, Yuuji considered marking this day down on the calendar, as serious introspection from the headstrong Knight seemed noteworthy in and of itself.

"Well, whatever your reason may be, I'll be relying on you to keep Rias safe."

"Yes, of course. I won't go back on my word."

"That's more than enough then. Thank you."

Sirzechs smiled then, the resemblance between him and Rias stronger than ever.

Xenovia averted her gaze with flushed cheeks.

"Ah, and Kalawarner-san, was it? I've heard nothing but good things about your tenure here, is the position to your liking?"

Kalawarner straightened, nodding politely in agreement.

"Certainly, Maou-sama. My time here has been most fulfilling."

"Wonderful. I look forward to hearing more of the same, then."

Sirzechs adopted a more formal tone than he had used previously, his aloof smile lending a regal air to his words.

"And Raynare-san, how are you enjoying life as a student?"

Raynare froze in place like a frightened rabbit at being addressed, but as Kalawarner slipped a hand into her and squeezed it in reassurance, she shook her head as if to clear it, smiling ruefully.

"Hehe, sorry. Yeah, it's super fun, I'm really happy!"

"Haha, that's wonderful. Truly, I'm glad for you both."

"Thanks!"

Raynare chirped, a sunny smile on her face.

Beside her, Kalawarner let out a small, relieved sigh.

"Well, I imagine I've kept you all long enough for now, I look forward to catching up to everyone later. With that out of the way… Rias?"

"Y-yes?"

Rias asked, a little startled.

"I was wondering if we could impose upon you for a night, Rias. You have spare rooms in the dorm, do you not? Grayfia has been anxious to inspect things and ensure they're up to standards."

"Hehe no fear of that."

Raynare chuckled under her breath, Kalawarner's stoic demeanor adopting a smug edge.

"Yeah, and it's a long drive so I decided to come the night before as well. Thanks for filling me in, Akeno-chan!"

JB chimed in, Akeno nodding politely in response.

Rias, for her part, looked faintly horrified.

"O-Onii-sama spending the night? I don't think that's a-"

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea, is Grayfia-san staying too!?"

Akeno cut her King off, a delighted (and mischievous) smile on her face.

"If it's not too much trouble."

Grayfia requested, a small smile blooming on her lips.

"Then it's settled!"

Akeno and Sirzechs said at the same time, winking at each other.

"Yep! Got space for me too?"

JB asked.

"Indeed, there are several rooms available. Take your pick, Harudera-san."

Kalawarner offered, taking over in her role as dorm supervisor with a knowing smile.

Rias slumped in her seat, dazedly muttering something about 'mutiny'.

"You'll be rooming with Yuuji-kun then I take it, Harudera-san? Mind if I borrow him for a bit beforehand?"

Sirzechs spoke up, directing his gaze towards JB.

"Sure, sure, you go ahead, Lucifer-san."

JB said with a casual wave of her hand.

"Perfect!"

Sirzechs exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

"I'll be borrowing Yuuji-kun then, if he doesn't mind?"

"Sure, why not."

Yuuji replied, ignoring the betrayed looks that Kuoh's Great Onee-sama's shot him as they realized they'd be Yuuji-deprived.

"Excellent, I've been meaning to speak with you, so this will be a good opportunity. We'll be borrowing him for the night then, Rias, Akeno."

"I'll stay in the young mistress's room then, will you be joining us, Akeno-san?"

"Sure will~."

Easily mollified, Akeno's sunny smile was accompanied by an odd twinkle of the eye.

"I feel like I've lost control of my life."

Rias gave a tired sigh that carried a faintly bewildered edge to it.

"Lucifer."

Koneko, as if it explained everything.

To be fair, it probably did.

Softly, gently, Asia put the final nail in the coffin, offering a guileless, soothing smile and a comforting pat on her master's shoulder.

* * *

"Umu, sleeping on a futon seems fun. I'm looking forward to this."

Sirzechs smiled happily as he unrolled the futon, opting not to use the spare bed furnishing the unlived-in dorm room.

"Hehe, Rias didn't even tell me about the classroom visits, she gets easily embarrassed that way. On top of being my Queen, though Grayfia manages the schedule of the Gremory Household, so we all knew well in advance."

"Yeah, Rias was a little panicked. The face she makes when she's pouting really is the best."

"You're a man of discerning tastes, Yuuji-kun."

"Lucked out on my end though. Akeno passed things on to JB a while back."

"Oh, is Yuuji-kun the easily embarrassed sort as well?"

Sirzechs asked with a sly smile on his lips, though his sharp gaze suggested his motive for asking was more than simple whimsy.

"No, no. Just didn't quite make the connection."

"That classroom visits might be something that 'involved you', I presume?"

Sirzechs asked carefully.

"Something like that."

"I see, I see. Harudera-san was rather excited to be attending, so make sure to put your best foot forward, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Now, if you don't mind I'll excuse myself, I don't often get a chance to visit the members of Rias' peerage either."

"Don't let me keep you then." Yuuji turned on his heel and headed towards the door.

"Have a good night then, Yuuji-kun... ah, wait a moment please."

Yuuji stopped and turned back with one eyebrow raised.

"I never did thank you, did I? Thank you, Kazami Yuuji, for bringing my sister and her family home once again."

"I don't think I did that much... you're welcome, I guess?"

Realizing the surprised Satan wasn't liable to add anything else, Yuuji took his leave.

"Haha... nothing much, says the man who crippled a Cadre. What an interesting you man you've found, Sister."

* * *

When he entered his room, Yuuji found JB seated in the chair that went with his study desk, blazer removed and one largely bare leg crossed over the other.

"All done consorting with Satan?"

The blonde asked, smiling teasingly.

"For now, I suppose."

A smirk of his own naturally slid in place.

"..."

"I did change the sheets, if that's what you're wondering."

"I… I was definitely wondering that, yes."

Nodding wisely, Yuuji wandered over to the edge of his bed, laying across it with his feet still on the floor.

A comfortable silence fell, JB kicking one leg absentmindedly as Yuuji stared at his ceiling.

"I'll have to send Akeno something nice."

"She likes sex toys and herbal tea. Not necessarily in that order."

"I'm not sending your girlfriend a sex toy."

"She prefers green, by the way."

"... I'll keep that in mind."

"Sorry, by the way."

JB went silent, waiting for him to clarify at his own pace.

"I probably should have realized that would be important… I'll do better."

"No, I shouldn't have really expected you to. As long as you understand."

"Yeah, I'll definitely tell you the next time something like classroom visits roll around… if Akeno doesn't beat me to it."

JB giggled.

"She's really too good for you, isn't she?"

"Not a clue what she sees in me. Might just be after my body."

"Obviously."

Came the sarcastic drawl.

"Or my skills in bed."

Yuuji grinned to himself as JB choked on her next quip, mentally drawing himself a point on the scoreboard.

"Is it working?"

JB asked abruptly.

"... Working?"

"Dating two girls."

"Apparently. I don't get it myself."

"Do you have feelings for both of them?"

"Yes."

No hesitation. JB nodded to herself, partially pleased and partially…

" I can smell that awkward silence, JB."

"...Why does that sound normal when you say it!?"

Yuuji didn't respond.

Out of sight, JB let her head drift towards the ceiling, drawing into herself as her blue eyes grew distant.

After a moment, she took a long, quiet breath and regained her composure, a well-practiced smile pasted on her beautiful face.

Yeah, no need for that.

Yuuji was happy, he didn't need-

"Stop beating around the bush, idiot."

-He was sitting up, and glaring at her in annoyance.

"Whatever do you mean, Yuuji-kun?"

Came the cheerful, fragile singsong.

Yuuji gave a firm nod, and rose from his seat.

Confused, JB watched as he went over to the door-

... And locked it.

"Worried about burglars?"

"A Devil can soundproof a room with a wave of their hand."

"Sounds useful?"

JB responded, somewhat nervously, as Yuuji traced a glowing symbol in the air that merged with the door.

It took him at least twice the time it would have taken almost anyone else in the peerage, but the result was satisfactory.

"H-hey, Yuuji-kun?"

JB called out to his back.

"Hmm?"

"What are you-"

JB cut herself off with a little squeak as Yuuji whirled suddenly, striding towards her and-

Leaning forward, trapping her with his hands on the armrests of her chair.

Silently, he stared at her, endless black boring into ocean blue as if he was trying to steal the light from her eyes.

Try as she might, JB couldn't look away, the pretty blonde growing more and more flustered as her ward continued to stare.

"Yuuji I-"

"It's okay, JB."

Her jaw snapped shut.

"I still need you, you know. And maybe this is just me being selfish, but I kinda hope you still need me too, Julia."

JB flinched back, a motion rendered entirely unsuccessful due to the position they were in.

"...Jerk."

Finally, she managed to pull her gaze away, squirming uncomfortably as rooms heat made her cheeks burn.

Yeah, she'd go with that.

"I know. Sorry, Julia."

Woodenly, awkwardly, Yuuji looped his arms around her shoulders and haltingly pulled her in close.

JB lifted her own arms and tightened the embrace.

.

.

.

"My shirt's getting wet. Strange."

"Shut up, you jerk… let me have this."

"Sure, sure."

Yuuji allowed, gently rubbing the quivering back beneath his hand.

"Take as long as you need, Julia."

* * *

"So… what does this mean?"

Julia asked, without any preamble.

"That I need to change my shirt."

Came the flippant reply.

JB released her grip on his back in order to slam a fist into his ribs.

"Oi."

"Quiet hellspawn, I know you can take it."

"You should probably clarify, or I'll just keep teasing you."

"I was trying to avoid this, you know. When a woman resolves herself, the proper response is _not_ to drag answers out of her."

"I'll remember that."

He would also ignore that, but he imagined JB knew him well enough to guess that.

"So, what are we, what am I to you now?"

JB murmured against his chest, giving up entirely on being subtle.

"My best friend/big sister/mom/handler/sex slave?"

"What was that last one!?"

"Ah, I forgot."

"THAT JUST WORRIES ME MORE!"

JB exclaimed, pushing Yuuji to arms length.

"Don't sweat the small stuff JB, you'll get grey hairs."

"Every single one of those will be your fault."

"You're welcome."

"... That wasn't a compliment."

"I like to look on the bright side."

JB's jaw fell open in utter, total disbelief.

He wasn't sure who that first snicker came from, but it was enough to break that last little edge of tension, and soon they were both laughing helplessly.

"Hehe... ahaha… Yuuji- pfft- bright side- hehe..."

JB gave up trying to speak, and just continued to laugh.

Eventually, they recovered, JB wiping tears from her eyes as she gasped for air.

"... Are they really going to be okay with that?"

"Yeah, they knew what they were getting into. Oh, and you should be careful in the future."

"Explain."

"Ah, it's nothing major."

Yuuji waved his hand dismissively.

"I just think it's fair for you to warn you that Akeno is bisexual and really, really likes to experiment."

"..."

"And she thinks your hot."

"I'm flattered, but… whose harem is it again?"

"Akeno's? Possibly co-owned, but I'm not really sure?"

Yuuji's tone suggested he had no clue what she was asking.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

JB let out a long sigh.

"Everything will work out probably maybe."

"... This is the part when you're supposed to be decisive, you know."

"Oops."

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Yuuji-kun, you still awake?"

Came the tentative call, muffled slightly by the wooden barrier.

Yuuji turned back to JB with one eyebrow raised.

Smiling softly, the blonde lifted one hand in a gentle shooing gesture.

With a nod, Yuuji made his way over to the door and found Akeno, with an almost conservative violet nightgown (that she'd probably never worn before tonight) and slightly damp hair.

"Hope I'm not interrupting, just wanted to say goodnight. Rias is just drying her hair, so she should be along soon."

"Nah, we're good."

Akeno leaned around Yuuji, smiling politely at JB, who offered a cheerful wave in response.

"We left you a towel set in the bathroom, Yuria-san. It's the yellow set."

"Thanks a bunch, Akeno-chan~."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me."

Yuuji interjected, looking back over his shoulder with a smirk that instantly wiped the smile from JB's face.

"Akeno."

He turned back, regarding the beauty in the hallway with an air of utmost gravity.

"Yes, Yuuji-kun?"

Akeno enquired, smiling sweetly as she tilted her head to one side.

"I just wanted you to know-"

"Yuuji don't you dare-!"

Came the panicked voice from behind him.

"JB thinks you're sexy."

* * *

A vision of elegance swept its way through the ruin and wreckage, breathtaking violet eyes weeping gently across the destruction that stretched out in every direction.

Short flaxen-hair that shone softly even in the dim light graced the head of the impossible beauty, clad only in a soft white dress and delicate slippers.

A smooth, slender white hand drifted into the air, the picture of indifference as she lightly caught the stray projectile that hurtled towards her face, never stopping her gliding steps towards the heart of the carnage.

Curiously, the beauty spread the object with both hands, regarding it with gently pursed lips.

Quite tasteful, but no, the color would clash with her eyes.

Dismissively, she discarded the offending article into a pile at her side and continued on, reaching her destination.

Patiently, she drew to a halt, the soft cloth adorning her fluttering to rest with nary a whisper.

Watching with keen interest and a mysterious smile, she waited patiently for the raging beast before her to take notice of her presence, listening carefully to it's call.

"Gah, no that's too casual- Is it supposed to formal!? Ahh, what if I overdress!?... No, no way that's way too conservative! I'll look boring and Shirone will hate me! Nyaa this is so frustrating!"

Unable to stop herself, Venelana Gremory covered her mouth with one hand and giggled.

Kuroka screamed and leapt away with catlike grace, flinging clothing in every direction.

"Nyaaaa! Gremory-san you scared me!"

"Ufufu, my apologies, Kuroka-san. You were being so adorable I just couldn't help myself."

Kuroka flushed, one black-furred ear flicking bashfully as the Gremory matriarch calmly regarded the recently-purchased clothes flung carelessly in every direction.

"Having a bit of trouble deciding what to wear?"

Venelana asked mildly.

"Y-yeah… I d-don't go to things like this…"

Ever.

"I finally might get to see Shirone face-to-face and I can't even figure out how to dress without embarrassing her. I'm a failure of a big sister."

"I'll hear none of that, Kuroka-san."

Venelana stated firmly, the motherly sort of tone that made anyone stand up a little straighter.

"You would have suffered a lot less if you really were a failure of a big sister. Perhaps it's time you gave your sister a chance to judge for herself?"

Kuroka flinched and wilted under her stern tone, tails limply draggig on the floor.

"M-maybe… I'm just…"

"I understand, but fretting about it now will only make things more difficult."

Venelana relented, smiling encouragingly.

"Now come over here and let me have a look at you. It's well past time that darling Koneko see how beautiful her big sister is."

Slowly, hesitantly, like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds, a smile began to creep its way across Kuroka's face.

With a determined stride, the lovely young Nekoshou approached Venelana.

She had to look her best for Shirone, after all.

* * *

 **Had intended to make it to the classroom visits, but certain things took longer than initially intended. Mostly the fanservice**


	15. In The Right Direction

**Classroom visits are here, among other things.**

 **Made some edits to the previous chapters, nothing major, just consistency for the most part in the speech patterns of Grayfia and Kuroka.**

* * *

It felt like not all that long ago that he'd woken up with his chest feeling wet.

Oh yeah, JB sometimes drooled when she slept.

That was fine though, that only happened when she was really relaxed, or drunk.

Since it was the first option in this case, he couldn't say he minded all that much.

She needed the rest, after all.

She always did.

Absently letting strands of hair slip through his fingers in a golden river, Yuuji stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom.

A few minutes later, a yawn drifted across his chest as JB stirred, lifting her head off his chest to blink in his direction a few times, before smiling and pushing herself upright.

With another yawn as she sat up, JB put her arms above her head and stretched, Yuuji watching appreciatively as it made her ample chest bounce, straining against the pink slip she was wearing.

… Come to think of it, this was kind of a novel experience.

Yuuji couldn't remember the last time they'd woken up in the same bed with _neither_ one of them naked.

"Morning, JB."

"Hmm… good morning, Yuuji-kun."

"Sleep well?"

"Mmmm~, Yuuji-kun's chest is comfy as always."

"Thanks."

Of course, they hadn't done anything other than cuddle a bit last night.

Since she was here as his guardian, JB decided that them having sex would be inappropriate, and sighed rather loudly when that idea served only to make Yuuji confused.

She really had slept well though, so she was feeling rather appreciative.

... And perhaps she'd been feeling just a little lonely, but he didn't need to know that.

"Yuuji-kun? Yuria-san? Are you awake?"

Akeno's voice drifted softly into the room as her knuckles rapped gently on the door.

Yuuji looked to JB with one eyebrow raised.

Smiling, JB called out in response.

"Yep, we're awake, Akeno-chan! Come on in~."

At her prompting, a smiling black-haired beauty, already in her school uniform, quietly opened the door.

Her smile froze in its place as she blinked in disbelief, before her lovely face contorted into an expression of forlorn disappointment.

"...You mean you didn't?"

"Not even a little."

Yuuji supplied, helpfully.

JB's flawless cheeks slowly began to flush as the implications hit, Akeno letting out a long sigh.

"... She's not even naked."

"Don't worry Akeno, I was disappointed too."

"W-W-WHAT ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT!?"

"Shh… not everyone is awake yet."

Yuuji said, frowning slightly at JB, as if _she_ was being the unreasonable one.

Smiling playfully, Akeno pressed a finger against her lips and winked.

"... There really are two of them, aren't there?"

JB whispered in the voice of total defeat.

Akeno giggled.

* * *

"We'll be going ahead then, Rias, we still need to meet up with Father."

"That would be for the best, I think, Onii-sama."

Rias replied.

"I'll stick with them, Yuuji-kun, I'd like to meet Ria-chan's father as well~."

JB chimed in from beside Grayfia.

"Sure. See you later then, JB."

"Ciao~."

With that cheerful farewell, JB, along with Sirzechs and Grayfia left the dormitory, leaving the students of the dorm room behind, Kalawarner leading the way, for now, since as a teacher, she needed to arrive early as well.

As the door shut, Rias allowed a grim expression to take hold.

"This is the day, then. Everyone be on their best behavior, and avoid making eye contact. Eye contact will only encourage them."

"Hoh? This sounds serious."

Xenovia said with a stern expression, Rias nodding firmly in response as Asia tilted her head in confusion.

Buchou _sounded_ serious, the little Bishop thought… but didn't she _look_ kind of excited?

As the rest of the group left the dorm, Akeno's merry, knowing laughter marked their passage.

* * *

Sirzechs, Grayfia and JB were waiting for them at the school gates, along with an older gentleman, dressed in an immaculate white suit, with neat, long hair and an expertly trimmed goatee, both of a very familiar shade of crimson.

Unsurprisingly, the adults were receiving more than a few admiring stares and whispers, as if a quartet of celebrities had appeared on campus.

Which wasn't entirely wrong.

"Hi hi, Yuuji-kun!"

JB waved cheerfully, her beaming smile only widening as dozens of heads whipped back and forth between staring at her, and her charge, in total shock.

"Long time no see, JB."

Yuuji responded, as they got closer.

Sirzechs, rather than immediately greet Rias as expected, instead let a rather blank gaze fall onto-

Koneko?

He blinked once, twice, before turning his head to find-

"Oh my."

Grayfia shifted her head towards the same direction, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Missing someone?"

Yuuji had seen the out-of-place movement from the corner of his eyes.

"Ah, yes, Kazami-sama. It appears we've been separated."

"Gotcha. Be right back then."

"K-Kazami-sama?"

Someone else, possibly several someone's called his name as Yuuji took off.

He didn't notice at all.

* * *

A mistake after all, huh?

She couldn't do it.

She'd caught one glimpse of that beloved white hair, and her nerves had failed her.

All that resolve, all the time she'd spent preparing herself, all the coaching from Lady Gremory and Grayfia-san, all so she wouldn't embarrass Shirone.

All for nothing.

The answer had made itself clear at the last possible second.

Kuroka had no right to stand in front of her sister.

Well, Grayfia was probably pretty angry, but that seal on her leg meant the Gremory maid was aware she hadn't gone all that far.

Damn.

Damn it all.

Well, at least she'd gotten to see Shirone, even for a brief few seconds.

Her precious little sister was doing so well.

The Gremory took better care of Shirone than she ever could.

She wasn't needed.

So, she would just stay out of the way.

It wouldn't be too hard, would it?

She had lots of practice hiding.

Lots of practice running away.

A tired sigh slipped free as Kuroka leaned against the wall, angling her head upwards to stare into the empty sky.

So absorbed was she, Kuroka almost didn't react in time.

An iron fist pierced the gymnasium wall like a spear, cracks radiating out from the impact like spiderwebs.

"... Ah, you dodged it."

The clatter of concrete hitting the ground accompanied the vaguely disappointed comment, the dark-haired Gremory Pawn yanking his metallic arm from the wall.

"W-what the hell are you doing, nyaa!?"

Kuroka managed to spit out, bewildered.

"Oh, I saw something that really pissed me off for some reason."

Came the monotone, faintly puzzled reply.

"What kind of reason is that!?"

Kuroka screeched, wild-eyed and ready to defend herself, ears no longer concealed and tails thrashing nervously behind her.

"You're her big sister, aren't you?"

It was like he'd swung again, and this time, he'd struck home.

That must have been why her gut lurched like that.

… The air was heavy with the scent of blood and iron, and far in the distance, she could hear the harsh grind of a sharp edge against a hard surface.

"... W-what's that got to do with you?"

"Oh, sorry. You reminded me of someone."

"... Who?"

"Doesn't matter, she's dead."

Kuroka flinched.

"... Then…"

"You're just going to run away, aren't you? You're just going to leave her behind and sneak away, and then you're going to pretend you did it for her, aren't you?"

"!"

A feral hiss filled the air, contrasting with the moisture in the woman's eyes.

"You bastard! What the hell do you know!? Do you think I wanted this!? Do you-"

 _ **"Shut your mouth, you useless coward."**_

Struck dumb by the venom in his tone, Kuroka's mouth fell open, and both her tails hit the dust.

"It's always the same, isn't it? Just doing whatever the hell you want, and pretending it's for the best. Acting like no one can live without you, and then vanishing without a word? What gives you the right!?"

Even as the boy's voice rose into a furious half-shout, and she cowered away those furious black eyes, Kuroka managed to whisper out in a trembling voice.

"W-who… who are you talking to?"

Yuuji's mouth snapped shut with a click.

A heavy stillness set in, pressing down upon them from every direction.

Eventually, he let out an aggrieved sigh, one hand squeezing the bridge of his nose.

"Forget that, never mind... I don't care anymore."

"... You were separated too, weren't you…?"

Yuuji glared at her for another long moment, before the blank mask slipped back into place as if it had never left.

"Yeah. Only, she'll never get the chance to come back and try again. Don't waste yours, idiot."

"... I'm sorry…"

A weak little meow slipped in at the end, as if that verbal tic had been forgotten until now.

"Am I really the one you should be telling that?"

"... No…"

He didn't respond, just stood there and stared.

Slowly, Kuroka stood upright and let out a long, deep breath.

"... Is it really…?"

"How the hell should I know?"

… She nearly fell over.

"W-what do you mean you don't know!? That's the part where you're supposed to be encouraging!"

"Timing is difficult."

Yuuji admitted, as if it was someone else's problem.

"You don't understand a woman's heart at all!"

Kuroka cried out in bitter protest, slumping like a puppet with its strings cut, feeling suddenly rather exhausted when in response, Yuuji just offered a rather careless shrug.

With little more than a whisper, her tails receded, and her catlike ears vanished in favor of a set of human ones.

Quietly, she brushed off the shoulders of the one-piece sweater dress she was wearing, adjusting her bra straps beneath and looking herself over.

Satisfied, Kuroka looked up, and, for the first time that day, smiled.

"... Yuuji-kun, right?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

"Sure."

"I'm ready now, I think."

"... Good. Run along then, I'll be right behind you."

Kuroka stared at him for a moment, golden eyes narrowing searchingly.

"Maybe it's not my place to say, Yuuji-kun… _but I'm sure she's proud of you_."

Yuuji's head twitched back a little, and his eyes widened just a touch.

"... That so?"

He replied, eventually.

"Nyaa~."

Kuroka responded immediately with a nod, some of the good cheer returning to her voice.

"Thanks, I think."

Kuroka shook her head with a smile.

Yuuji decided that expression suited her.

"No, don't mention it. I definitely owe you… more than you know."

"I see."

He didn't, but he'd at least succeeded in his task.

That was enough for now.

As Kuroka took another deep breath and set off, back towards the front of the school, one last sigh escaped his lips.

"Big sisters sure are difficult, aren't you?"

As what always seemed to be the case, the one he was asking…

Didn't answer back.

* * *

Weird.

Definitely weird.

They were being subtle about it, but the adults didn't seem to realize how sensitive she was to the gaze of others.

Sirzechs-san.

Grayfia-san.

Lord Gremory (he liked it when she called him Outo-san, but that was embarrassing, even in her head).

Every single one of them had divided their focus between whoever Yuuji-senpai had run off to find.

… And her.

It was making her a little nervous, if she was being honest.

Especially since Rias-nee-san, and Yuria-san seemed to be in on it.

Toujou Koneko might not have been showing it on her face, but this was really, _really_ making her nervous.

Surreptitiously, she inched her way closer to Akeno-nee-san, using those curves she definitely wasn't jealous of as a shield.

Akeno wrapped one arm around her and pulled her in close, giving a mischievous little giggle as if it were _her_ idea.

Nice save, Nee-san.

Hey, something had caught their eye.

Yuuji-senpai must be returning with whoever it was.

Pulling her face away from Akeno's side, she turned to see…

No.

No, it couldn't be.

There was no way, no way, it wasn't it couldn't nononono-

"... S-Shirone…?"

A weak little whisper slipped out from somewhere.

… _Nee-sama?_

Her Nee-sama, her _Kuroka_ , was staring at her with fragile golden eyes torn straight from memory..

With a strange sound that even she couldn't understand, Koneko tucked herself behind Akeno, the taller girl gasping a little as Koneko's head dug into her back, and tiny fists clenched tight fistfuls of her shirt.

"S-Shirone… I.. I'm… please… I'm… so, so sorry… I… I c-can't-"

That beautiful, warm voice that she could remember so clearly, had loved so dearly, was on the verge of breaking.

What seemed like an eternity later, she managed to peek around the protective barrier that was Akeno, to see if Nee-sama really was there, and she really hadn't imagined it.

There she was.

The sister she'd adored more than anything.

The sister who'd abandoned her.

The sister who'd left her behind.

Who'd left her alone.

Swaying in an unseen breeze, as if she'd shatter with even a single false step.

A weak, hurting, desperate gaze that she couldn't seem to tear away from her little sister.

It still hurt.

It hurt so much.

"... Why…?"

Why couldn't she be angry?

Why did all the hurt, the loneliness, the fear…

In this moment...

 ** _Why didn't it matter at all?_**

* * *

She waited with bated breath.

One word was all it would take.

One word of rejection.

Even a simple glare would do it, and that was all it would take to break her apart.

Her precious Shirone had never had the chance after all, had she?

She had never had the chance to reject her face to face.

To hate her.

 ** _To fear her._**

To turn her back on her.

That old, familiar sense of dread set in, and in response, Kuroka screwed her eyes tightly shut.

She wouldn't run.

She wanted to run.

She wanted Shirone to say something, _anything._

She didn't want to hear it.

She needed to know.

She was afraid to know.

She just couldn't-

A merciless strike drove the breath from her lungs, but she kept her eyes shut tight.

... Ah, Shirone could do that too.

Shirone was strong now, and if Shirone wanted to hurt her, of course she would let her.

She couldn't even dream of raising a hand against her darling little sister, so if Shirone decided that this would end with her death, Kuroka would happily accept.

Being killed by Shirone didn't seem so bad.

Before she could take even a single breath, tiny arms encircled her waist with crushing force, and something pressed against her stomach.

No, this wasn't so bad at all-

Huh?

Golden eyes drifted open, and then widened like saucers in pure, utter disbelief.

Huh?

It didn't make sense.

She didn't get it.

Shirone had her arms wrapped around her.

Her precious little Shirone, her cherished little White Sound, was…

Hugging her?

No, no, no that didn't make sense, dreaming, she was dreaming, no way-

"S-Shirone…?"

Shaking arms lifted themselves of their own accord to wrap around the tiny form pressed tightly to her.

"... It's really you, isn't it?"

Who had spoken?

She didn't know.

She didn't care.

Shirone was in her arms once more.

They were together once more.

That was all that mattered.

All that would ever matter.

* * *

With a quiet sniffle, JB wound her way around the wailing girls, who had just collapsed to their knees.

Gently, slowly so as not to startle him, she wrapped her arms around the waist of _her_ target, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Her smile widened a touch when a teary-eyed Akeno, from across the way, shot her a grateful look, before a significantly more apprehensive gaze fell on JB's charge.

He really did work too hard, didn't he?

Gradually, the hug was returned in his awkward, wooden manner.

His dark eyes still fixed on the reunited siblings, and a sad, wistful little smile on his face.

* * *

"I'm not sure how that ended with me being scolded by Grayfia."

"That's because you stabbed school property, Yuuji-kun. Grayfia-san seems like the strict sort."

"Huh? 'Stabbed'? I didn't stab anything."

"... What do you mean? It seriously looked like someone put a light-spear or something in the wall. What were you trying to do, anyways?"

"Oh, that? I was just trying to punch her in the face."

"Y-Yuuji-kun! You're not supposed to punch girls in the- wait, what do you mean that was your fist!?"

"Ah, there's Sensei. Looks like class is starting."

"I- no, you know what, I give up."

Raynare said, slumping onto her desk.

Briefly, because the second her head hit said desk, she shivered from head to toe and sat up perfectly straight, eyes slightly wider than they had been a second ago.

Smiling from across the room, as if uninvolved, Kalawarner began the role call.

Somewhere from among the watching adults at the back of the room, an appreciative chuckle slipped out.

* * *

Suddenly, everything made sense.

At last, everything had fallen into place.

She, Kuroka, was dead, and residing in the closest thing to a happy afterlife one could have when one was a literal creature of Hell.

After all, where else would she be privileged to such wondrous sights?

Her darling little Shirone was, without a doubt, the cutest thing that had ever existed in the history of anything.

Ever.

The way she sat up straight in her cute little desk, the way she kept her tone of voice carefully level when she perfectly answered the teachers questions, the almost unnoticeable ( to anyone but her big sister) waver in her cute little voice as she tried not to be self-conscious around her Onee-sama.

Oh, it was just-

Kuroka did her best to suppress a squeal, either not noticing, or not caring, that the parents watching the class alongside her were enjoying watching _her_ just as much as watching their children.

Oh!

Hehehe~.

Caught you, Shironyaa~.

That slight hint of red around the ears, her precious little Shirone was blushing!

Ah, this was too much.

If she wasn't already dead, Kuroka soon would be.

Likely from her heart melting from all the cuteness.

If she'd been able to see her little sisters face, she would have been shocked and indescribably happy to know that since entering the room, the smile had never once left Koneko's face, to the confusion of her peers.

A smile that _she_ was the cause of.

Of course, it's not like everything had just fixed itself. This was the first step, no more, no less.

Yet, it was still a chance she'd never dreamed of having.

So maybe, just maybe, things were looking up.

* * *

Suddenly, everything made sense.

At last, everything had fallen into place.

She, Rias Gremory, was dead, and even for a literal being of Hell, there was something like eternal damnation awaiting her in the afterlife.

How else could this be happening?

They knew damn well that her hearing was better than a human's, so they _must_ know that she could hear every whisper!

Seriously, what about her _seated posture_ was so worthy of admiration!?

She knew she was cute but this was absurd!

Even _Ane-sama_ was feeding into it, whose sick joke was it to call a bully like Grayfia an 'ice queen'!?

Akeno too, she hoped she pulled something with all the effort it took her traitorous Queen to keep the laughter in!

J-just because she loved them didn't mean she was okay with being teased all the time!

Hah, that was an easy question, did you see how smart your daughter is, Otou-sama!?

* * *

This was too much.

Seriously, Rias pretending that she wasn't excited to have her family watching was too cute.

She knew this was going to be a good day when she'd woken up cuddling with both Rias _and_ Grayfia, but this was even better.

Her family embarrassed her every year, without fail, and Rias would squirm and protest and act like she was dreading the next occasion.

Then she would try her hardest not to preen every time her family praised her.

No, Rias was proud, and rightly so, but she was far from vain.

It was just that she was very much a daddy's girl, and a mommy's girl, and a big brother's girl, and a-

So yes, Rias looked forward to classroom visits every single year, even as she made her 'displeasure' known.

And every year she, Akeno, would cherish the sight of her closet tsundere of a best friend, doing her best not to act like she wasn't over the moon with all her loved ones fawning over her.

Every year, that adorable sight helped Akeno keep at bay the wishes that _her_ parents were there to embarrass her.

* * *

She knew, deep down.

She'd always known, from the moment she began living with him.

That the man she owed her life to, the man she'd do anything to please, that Kazami Yuuji…

Was a total tsundere.

Ah geez, he was so cute!

This was the best thing ever!

Honestly, she didn't really understand 'classroom visits' all that well, since by her very nature, she, Raynare, had never had a chance to meet her Father (regardless of His status), and the closest she had to a mother was also her teacher, but now she thought they were amazing!

He'd 'ignored' JB the whole time he'd been in class, a tall order since, as he was seated the farthest row back and she was barely out of arm's length, but she could tell.

Yuuji-kun was totally, 100% aware of where JB was at all times, and he was being _way_ more obvious about the fact that he was actually a good student!

Eeee!

Classroom visits were seriously the best!

She should have brought a camera so she could record the whole thing!

Ah!

JB had the same thought, but she actually brought the camera!

She _definitely_ wasn't the only girl who would enjoy the many, many replays that would surely follow.

… JB was pretty amazing though, wasn't she?

She was even paying attention to her, Asia-chan, and Xen-chan as well, even if she'd hardly had any chance to speak with their newest addition.

She hardly knew any of them, really, but she was still doing her best to make them feel appreciated.

Now she understood why Yuuji loved her so much.

Anyways, Kala-chan's gaze seemed extra warm today, it was seriously making her blush!

Hmm, what was this?

Her cheeks were a little wet.

… Ah, she'd almost been having too much fun watching Yuuji-kun to notice.

She was Loved too, wasn't she?

Well, she already kind of knew that, but…

Reminders never hurt.

* * *

A truly daunting foe had appeared.

He'd let his guard down because of the classroom visits.

Tch, what a blunder-

"Yuuji-san, do you not like making sculptures?"

Innocent little Asia asked, cornering him further.

If he agreed, she'd take on that downtrodden, kicked-puppy look as if it was somehow _her_ fault, and if he denied it, she'd be happy…

Until his lack of creativity came back around to bite him in the ass, and then when she saw the shapeless lump of modelling clay that would surely remain…

Asia would assume he'd just been trying to make her feel better, and then feel guilty about making him do that…

… She was the true strongest member of the household, wasn't she?

Perhaps Asia Argento was the true foe here.

If that was the case, then-

"Ah, don't worry about me, Asia, just thinking… say, Xenovia looks like she's having trouble making up her mind, maybe she could use a hand?"

 ** _Then a sacrifice was necessary._**

… I heard that snicker, JB.

"Oh! Y-yes… I'll do my best!"

Cute little face scrunched up in determination, the petite blonde rounded on Xenovia…

Who really was having trouble, to be fair.

Having bought himself time with Xenovia's noble sacrifice, Yuuji stared blankly at the shapeless lump sitting on his desk.

His hand kind of hurt.

No, not hurt, exactly, but his right hand did kind of ache.

Almost like it was being squeezed, or constricted.

Hopefully that wasn't Akeno's enchantments acting up.

It wasn't the dead chill that signified the Arsenal Memoirs powers leaking out, which was good.

Now was not the time to sneak off with Akeno for any sort of 'ritual'.

Come to think of it, he hadn't told JB about that yet.

… He would get riiiight on that.

Wrapped up in his own thoughts about how to explain to JB the nature of something that always seemed to wind up more sexual than it should be, it took several minutes for Yuuji to notice.

His work had already started.

As his left hand kept the clay in place, his right hand kneaded and stretched of its own accord.

More than a little surprised, Yuuji stopped in place entirely…

Or at least tried.

His hands weren't listening.

So instead, Yuuji watched himself work, somewhat disturbed, but also curious.

He had no idea _what_ he was making, after all.

He wasn't quite sure _who_ was making it, either.

Try as he might, none of the false memories Yuuji could recall from the Arsenal included sculpting.

So perhaps, someone else was waking up.

…This was making his head hurt.

Well, no matter, it seems like at some point, he had finished-

That damn smile.

Loose, careless bangs framed the gently smirking face of the woman who had emerged from the clay, her high ponytail seeming to drift behind her in an unseen breeze.

She gave the impression of being tall, almost larger than life, despite the sculpture being just under a foot in height.

She was also gorgeous, full breasts and wide hips complimented by a tight, toned stomach and long, gracefully muscled legs, stretched out before her as she reclined against the rock he'd apparently seated her on.

Just the right blend of lean muscle and womanly curves, as if she was a world-class athlete who had shifted her ambitions to a modelling career.

Hehe, probably for the best she hadn't, really… she'd have driven a lot of women out of business.

Two different questions came in from different directions, interrupting his musings.

"... Is that Asako…?"

JB half-whispered from behind him, a little catch in her voice.

Meanwhile, Raynare, her attention caught by the noise, had a very different line of questioning in mind.

"Say, Yuuji-kun… why is she naked?"

Yuuji could only helplessly chuckle in response.

After all, he'd been asked _those_ particular questions before.

… In that particular order.

* * *

Huh, being swept along by the crowd's excitement wasn't so bad, was it?

If you accounted for the fact that he hated crowds, noise, or being herded without clear instruction.

Or that it was lunch break, and this probably had nothing to do with food of any kind.

Yuuji decided he wouldn't sweat the small details.

He actually was curious about what was happening, after all.

The current of chattering bodies eventually swept its way into the gym, disgorging the young man into the gymnasium.

Pink.

There was a lot of pink.

Adorning a rather pretty young woman, who kind of made him think of a slightly older and _way_ less mature Sona, smiling cheerfully as she danced and spun and waved to the crowd.

Yuuji wasn't sure whether to be disturbed or impressed that this... magical girl (?), past the sparkles, and the dancing, gave off a vibe similar to the literal Satan and the disaster-class maid wandering the halls.

So she was probably someone important, judging by her carefully contained aura of overwhelming might, and, more importantly, that flat, pleasantly stomach and pink underwear.

… That outfit was distracting in more ways than one.

Come to think of it, wasn't Sona…?

"What's all the commotion?"

"Nice timing, Sona."

Yuuji flashed the stern looking student council president a thumbs-up.

"That's Kaichou during school hours, Kazami-san."

Sona said, pushing up her glasses that didn't need to be pushed up.

The ominous glint of light reflecting from her lenses was probably magic.

Unbeknownst to Yuuji, the gymnasium had lapsed into a confused and somewhat chastised silence, shying away from Sona Sitri's piercing gaze as the magical girl…

Seemed to be extra sparkly.

Those blue eyes of hers were sparkling like jewels, and she seemed to be shaking with pent-up energy.

Sona met the magical girl's eyes as Yuuji began a mental countdown.

On cue-

"SO-TAN!"

"O-Onee-sama!?"

Suddenly the magical girl was airborne, in the midst of a huge leap that someone pretending to be human shouldn't be pulling off.

Of course, nobody noticed the pink comet sailing the length of Kuoh Academy's rather large gymnasium, because the eyes of every single human in the room had gone glassy and dull.

… Did she just hypnotize them in midair?

That was impressive, and... should probably step out of the flight path.

The two women collided in a suspiciously gentle fashion, that while seemingly safe still ended with a furiously blushing Sona pinned to the floor, underneath a cooing pink creature rubbing cheeks with her.

"Ah, there you are So-tan! Levia-tan was feeling super-duper extra lonely! Give Onee-chan lots of love!"

"A-ah! Onee-sama n-n-not in-front of-"

Two pairs of eyes looked up at him.

Kazami Yuuji liked to think he was someone that could read the room.

One hand promptly rose to cover his eyes.

"Don't mind me."

"K-Kazami-san you traitor!"

"Yay! Time to recharge my So-tan Power!"

"O-Onee-sama!?"

"Hey! Wait a second!"

Abruptly Yuuji found his vision cleared, as the supposedly glamered hand, that had been covering his eyes a second ago, was being held palm-up and scrutinized by the magical girl.

"...So-tan…"

Huh, that sounded kind of dangerous…

"Y-yes, Onee-sama?"

The flustered girl, still lying on the floor, must have noticed it too, for the hesitant quaver in her voice.

"Why didn't you tell me Ria-tan's new Pawn was a cyborg!?"

The magical girl wailed dramatically, waving Yuuji's metallic arm around for emphasis.

Sona's mouth opened and shut several times, for some reason without any accompanying sound.

… Yep, patience lost.

"Oi, you."

"Yes?"

The magical girl politely asked, halting her manhandling of his prosthetic and turning to regard Yuuji with a friendly, attentive sort of curiosity.

"Egeh!"

Letting out a strange sound as Yuuji's free hand was promptly used to flick her on the nose.

"That hurts, moron."

The shell-shocked magical girl recoiled, tears welling up into the corner of her eyes as both hand clapped over her stinging nose.

"K-Kazami-san! You can't just flick a Satan!"

"Just did."

"Wait, how did you even know!?"

"She called herself 'Levia-tan'?"

Yuuji responded, looking at Sona in puzzlement.

"I don't get it! That totally stings, are you the final boss!?"

The Satan complained, still clutching her nose with one hand and pointing the other in accusation.

"Secret boss, actually. Only available in the pre-order."

"Something like that was a pre-order bonus!? That's dirty!"

Leviathan protested in shock, 'injury' apparently forgotten.

"Sorry, lack of competition in the industry might be letting them get away with some unreasonable things."

"Are the developers the real villains!?"

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO EVEN TALKING ABOUT!?"

"Huh, you should pay more attention, So-tan. You'll make your sister sad if you ignore her like that, So-tan."

"Yeah, Levia-tan will seriously cry you know, So-tan!"

"That's not- DON'T CALL ME SO-TAN!"

"Huh, Devil society is complicated, isn't it?"

Yuuji stated, faint confusion coloring his otherwise blank expression.

"There there, you'll get the hang of it soon. No one will judge you too harshly in your first year."

Leviathan reassured him, patting Yuuji consolingly on the shoulder.

That friendly gesture had the unexpected side-effect of fraying through Sona's last nerve, because she promptly left to her feet with an odd series of quivers going through her body, and a hint of moisture at the corners of her eyes.

"ONEE-SAMA, YOU BULLY!"

With that, the wailing young girl, that Yuuji had never seen before in his life, turned on her heel and ran from the room.

"A-a-ah no! So-tan come back! Onee-chan is sorry!"

Leviathan cried after her, one hand outstretched to no avail.

Kazami Yuuji liked to think he was pretty good at reading the room.

That, and he believed in the prompt return of favors.

"There, there. I'm sure she won't stay mad for long."

Yuuji reassured Leviathan, patting her consolingly on the shoulder.

This, it seemed, was both the right move, and the worst possible action.

With a loud sniffle, the magical girl lifted her head up to him and flashed a dazzling smile, eyes glittering suspiciously once again.

"Kazami-kun right?"

"Call me Yuuji, if you'd like."

"Well, Yuuji-kun, nice to meet you! I'm Magical Girl Levia-tan, known in some circles as Serafall Leviathan, formerly Serafall Sitri."

Serafall finally introduced herself, offering a cheerful salute.

"Wasn't the order a little mixed up there?"

Yuuji enquired, faintly impressed by the polite greeting from the pink whirlwind of insanity before him.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Yuuji-kun."

Serafall waver her hand dismissively.

"More importantly…"

This was going to be good.

"Does your robot arm have a rocket-fist!?"

* * *

"Oh, there you are Yuuji-kun."

"Oh, hello JB. Did you have fun chatting with Sensei?"

"Mhm, you're in good hands, I like her."

"That's nice to hear."

"So what were you doing in the gym anyways? I saw a crying girl running past, so I assumed it was your fault."

"... It's annoying that you think that, but you're not entirely wrong."

JB nodded her head empathetically, an odd sort of smug pride contained within her smile.

"Mainly I was future-proofing."

"Future-proofing?"

"Making connections and expanding my horizons."

"... Go on."

JB prompted, looking a little confused.

"Well, if things don't work out with Ichigaya, I have a career as a mysterious cyborg with a dark past."

"..."

"Just as a side character, but if the ratings are good I might qualify for my own spin-off. If I work hard, then you can be my manager if you feel like a career change."

"That's… a lot more normal than I expected, actually, so I'm just going to take pride as your guardian and not delve any further."

"Oh, in unrelated news, I met another Satan, and she's a wildly popular magical girl with a slight sister complex. She also does all her own stunts."

Yuuji's tone suggested that the last trait was the most noteworthy, but...

"... I left you alone for twenty minutes."

"That was your mistake, not mine."

"Twenty. Minutes."

Yuuji shrugged, and then found himself watching in no small amount of confusion as JB turned away and began slowly, methodically banging her head against the wall.

JB was strange that way.

* * *

After classroom visits, the members of the household, as well as the adults who had visited them during the day, had ended up back at the dormitory, sitting around a truly massive TV in the common room.

Yuuji and Kiba had dug it out from the third floor basement storage, after Sirzechs desire to take advantage of the first basement floor's amenities had been soundly rejected by Rias.

Hard to blame her, Yuuji felt.

Watching a recording of your school day in a private movie theater, worth more than the average Japanese household, seemed like a bit much.

Sirzechs and Zeoticus Gremory, as he'd introduced himself, seemed to immensely enjoy their recordings of Rias and Akeno in class, the ever adaptable JB easily joining in on the excitement, while a much more composed, but no less focused Grayfia sat by the Satan's side.

The next most excited was Suu, who didn't seem to have any idea what was going on, but people she liked were on the screen and people around her were happy, which was more than enough for the Slime.

Ruth was taking a nap, free from the chaos in a manner that only a dog could pull off.

Rias, for her part, looked like she was ready to ignore the negative side-effects and start praying, while Akeno would bounce between giggling when the focus was Rias, and blushing and squirming when the focus shifted to her.

Yuuji was rather enjoying things, until the video ended, and JB flashed a victorious smirk at him, when Grayfia rose from her seat to change the disks.

Then Hell opened wide it's hungering jaws, and Kazami Yuuji fell head-long into its eager, cruel embrace.

How had he failed to notice!?

When had JB pulled a camera!?

… And why were all the women suddenly so enthralled?

"Oh look at that little frown! You can tell he's seriously thinking about that one!"

Keep that glitter out of your eyes.

Sure, the focus wasn't all on him, as he was only one of five in his year, but still!

Well, at least he could share in the misery.

Kiba's thousand yard stare sought the illusion of salvation from a far distant horizon.

Asia would enthusiastically watch each and every highlight, blushing furiously when it became Yuuji's turn, and covering her face with a high-pitched squeal when it was hers.

Raynare, bewildered by the attention, had short-circuited and was currently sagged in the couch beside Kalawarner, who seemed to be having at least as much fun as JB, proudly watching her students in such flattering displays without a shred of her usual decorum.

"Ah, I was so proud! Ray-chan used to struggle with that topic, she studies so hard!"

Xenovia didn't seem to understand what was going on at all, but her red cheeks signified that she understood just enough to be embarrassed.

It's not like he could easily slip out either, as both Akeno and Rias had cunningly trapped him when their wits recovered, seizing control of an arm each.

This was horrible.

Humiliating.

Soul-crushing.

It was… kind of nice actually.

… He'd never been in a room with so many genuinely happy people, and actually been in any way able to call himself a part of it.

… Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

He wondered how the sisters were doing.

* * *

They weren't doing very well.

H-how was she supposed to start!?

'Ah, sorry for running off on you Shirone, I didn't think I'd become one of the Underworld's most wanted when I left'?

No, deep breaths Kuroka, you're supposed to be the big sister here!

She inhaled softly, twin black tails thrashing on the seat behind her to betray her nerves, and-

"Nee-sama."

"Y-yes!?"

Ah, she stuttered! Shirone would think she was indecisive and hate her for it!

"... I'm glad you're okay…"

Kuroka's response died in her throat.

"I… I was really… scared when you got hurt..."

Oh, Shirone…

That sort of forlorn, haunted look had no business being worn by her precious little White Sound.

She really, really wished she'd had the strength to rip _all_ the wings off that filthy crow.

"... I'm sorry I scared you, Shirone… but…"

A deep breath.

This was important, you coward. Don't mess this up.

"I'm not sorry I did it, I'm just sorry I couldn't protect you."

Shirone flinched a little, golden eyes widening.

Kuroka took another deep breath and prepared to push on, but Shirone's whisper wiped the thoughts from her head in an instant.

"Why would you… protect me?"

"S-Shirone…?"

She just loathed how _weak_ her reply sounded.

"You already left me behind, why would you come back if you're just going to get hurt!?"

Oh, she understood now…

Shirone had been _trying_ to forget.

For just a few short hours, she'd let their reunion be joyful, as if only time and distance had laid between them.

… Perhaps she didn't know her sister that well at all.

"Why Onee-sama!? Why did you come back!?"

Oh, your big sisters been working part-time as a terrorist, so you know, connections?

"S-Shirone, I…"

"No, Nee-sama, I don't care."

No.

No.

Nononopleaseno-

"Nee-sama, _**WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!?** "_

That desperate, wounded scream hit her with such force that Kuroka honestly thought she might have blacked out for a second.

Shirone had always, always been quiet.

She couldn't think of a single instance where she'd raised her voice.

It hurt, so, so much.

She couldn't take it.

Someone let slip a strangled sob, two pairs of golden eyes began to water.

"I COULDN'T TAKE YOU WITH ME!"

Shirone flinched.

"DO YOU THINK I WANTED TO LEAVE!? THE WHOLE UNDERWORLD WANTED ME DEAD, HOW COULD I KEEP YOU SAFE WHEN I COULD BARELY PROTECT MYSELF!?"

Shirone quivered.

"LEAVING YOU BEHIND WAS THE BEST HOPE I HAD! THEY WOULDN'T HAVE CARED HOW YOUNG YOU WERE, IF THEY TRACKED US DOWN THEY'D HAVE CALLED YOU AN ACCOMPLICE AND KILLED YOU!"

Shirone whimpered.

"YOU THINK I WANTED ANY OF THIS! YOU THINK I WAS GOING TO LET THAT BASTARD MAKE YOU HIS PLAYTHING!? NO FUCKING CHANCE I'D LET THAT SICK PIECE OF SHIT USE MY SHIRONE FOR HIS STUPID LITTLE SCIENCE PROJECT!"

Even past Kuroka's furious screams, Shirone's quiet voice reached her ears without fail.

"... Science project?"

Kuroka froze.

"... Ah… no… nevermind, I s-said too much."

… Koneko's eyes narrowed as her sister's ears fell flat against her head, eyes shifting nervously, trying to back-track and failing.

Like hell she was going to let that go.

Kuroka never saw it coming.

One minute, Shirone was sitting wide-eyed on her bed.

The next, the chair she was seated on cracked loudly against the wall as the strength of a Rook sent it tearing through the carpet, leaving the taller Nekoshou pinned against the wall, as thin arms sealed her into her seat like steel bars.

"S-Shirone…?"

She'd never been scared of her own sister.

… Was this what Shirone felt?

"No more games Nee-sama... no more lies. Why did you kill our master?"

"Y-you already know, don't you, nyaa? I-it was a hot topic a few years back."

"...Nee-sama…"

Shirone's eyes went cold.

"No… listen to me, please. They weren't wrong."

Shirone blinked in shock at the quiet admittance, jerking her head back a little.

"It's true that I lost control of my power… I… I don't remember killing him… I don't remember destroying his workshop… and I don't remember killing the team sent after me either."

* * *

Koneko shook her head furiously in denial, arms falling limply to her sides.

"B-but… no…"

Part of her, deep down had hoped that there was some secret reason that Kuroka had done what she'd done.

Some deep dark part of her had hoped that her beloved Nee-sama hadn't left her behind because she wanted to, she'd dreamed that one day, Kuroka would appear out of nowhere, her name cleared and their family restored.

A small, fragile piece of Toujou Koneko's heart had denied, with all its strength, the possibility that the awful things they'd said about her precious sister were _true_.

… She felt the lingering shards of her hope shatter.

"But I remember _why_ … _**and I'd make that choice as many times as it takes.** "_

Kuroka was standing then, looming over her much smaller sister with an eerie light in her golden eyes.

"He used us like _science experiments_ , Shirone. Every single one of his peerage, our own efforts didn't interest him. He didn't want us to improve ourselves, he wanted to **_pick us apart and add in a few extras when he put the pieces back together_**. He experimented on us, drugs and needles and strange wires. He realized how much _**stronge** r _I could be, how _ **fast**_ I was growing with only a little nudging, and he wondered…"

Kuroka's teeth bared in a savage snarl as her words came out in a low, feral hiss.

"If one Nekoshou had this much potential, **_how much stronger could another grow... if we started when she was only a child?_** "

Another whimper slipped from Koneko's mouth as she shuddered.

There was sickness in the air, the space around her sister writhing and thrashing as the power of a Nekoshou brought Kuroka's rage to life like a physical thing.

"You would have done it, too. Cute little Shirone, always so _understanding_ , so _eager_ to please. If he'd asked, you would have gone right along with it, and it would have torn you apart. It was only dumb luck that I overheard him."

Kuroka interrupted her own words to snarl like a beast, panting hard.

"He was planning to force your Senjutsu to awaken when you were only five! Your power would have shattered you, and even if you lived you would have been nothing more than a wild animal, or if you were lucky, bedridden in agony for the rest of your short, _miserable_ life!"

"..Nee-sama… i-it…"

It hurt.

There was pressure in the air, crushing and battering her from every angle.

A nauseating, poisonous hatred.

Kuroka couldn't even see her anymore.

… But her words still got through.

The end of the story, the truth contained at the end of the book.

"That's why… you killed him… didn't you…? F-for… me?"

Koneko gagged, just barely managing to grit the words out before another bout of nausea hit.

Senjutsu was powered by emotions, used that as fuel to influence the world around it.

The only emotions that existed for Kuroka, in this moment, were hate and rage and fear.

Someone sensitive to, but with no skill in Senjutsu, someone like her, was helpless.

As if their thoughts had been in sync, Kuroka seemed to realize it too, as the oppressive air vanished like mist and Koneko let out a great, gasping breath, reeling away from her sister.

"S-Shirone..? What… what happened… what did I…"

The vicious, seething rage gave way to hesitant, fearful confusion as the older Nekoshou reached out weakly for her sister.

"No… no… nonono anything but this…"

Kuroka's hands slapped over her mouth to muffle the stuttering sob that slipped out, as in a mirror of her sisters earlier actions, she shook her head wildly, as if to dispel the vision before her.

Panicking, Kuroka's eyes latched onto the glass patio door of Koneko's room, and she spun on her heel and fled, aiming to smash through the glass and escape.

She made it a single step.

Tiny arms snapped around her waist, halting her momentum dead.

Not understanding, Kuroka struggled, reaching out-

"Nee-sama."

A weak little whisper froze her in place.

"L-let me go S-Shirone… I hurt you! Please, let me go… I can't… I didn't mean… I didn't want-"

"You didn't mean to."

"N-no! Of course not! Please, let me go, it's not safe!"

"I don't care."

Kuroka struggled again, in a feeble manner that didn't suit her at all.

"Please, I'm begging you!"

The arms tightened.

"No."

"SHIRONE!"

"NO! You don't get to run away again!"

"I-"

"I love you, Nee-sama."

It was Kuroka's turn to whimper.

"T-that's not fair… You say things like that... and I won't be able to…"

Tiny arms gave her another squeeze.

For a while, the siblings were still, frozen in that same awkward position.

Gradually a sigh slipped from Kuroka's lips, a far gentler sound than anything she'd uttered before.

"Okay, Shirone. That's enough."

Koneko pushed her head more tightly against Kuroka's back.

"I'm not going to leave, Shirone, let me go."

Kuroka's hands dropped onto Koneko's arms, flinching briefly as they contacted at first, as if afraid to touch, but then gently settling onto her sister's arms.

"... You promise?"

"Yeah."

Gradually, Koneko's grip began to loosen.

The second they'd loosened enough, Kuroka spun on her heels, facing her sister and wrapping one arm around her shoulders, as the other came to rest against the back of her head, rubbing soothingly.

"I'm sorry, my little Shirone. Nee-sama tries her best, but that nasty Devil messed up her head a little, nyaa. We can't stay together all the time yet, Nee-sama is still a criminal, but I promise that I won't disappear, no matter what. I'll live with the Gremory's as long as they'll let me, and maybe one day, we can be together again."

"... You promise?"

Koneko murmured against Kuroka's chest, hugging her in a far more loving fashion.

"I promise. Please, Shirone, if there's one thing you can always believe in, believe in this."

Kuroka carefully released her grip just a little, creating enough space so that their eyes could meet.

Warm golden eyes gazed deeply into Koneko's, accompanied by a smile she'd long since given up seeing anywhere but her fondest dreams.

"I will _always_ love you, Shirone… nothing will ever change that, my dear little White Sound."

… After a moment, a sniffle cut through the silence, Kuroka smiling patiently as Koneko's shoulders began to shake.

Softly, she drew her little sister into her embrace once more, slowly guiding them both to a kneeling position, and then deftly sweeping up Koneko's legs to leaver her cradled in her lap.

Tenderly, she held onto Koneko as the dam broke for one last time, rocking gently as the little Rook cried her heart out.

This time, though, she knew that, at least between them, everything was truly alright.

They would be okay.

* * *

Quiet, too quiet.

It's not as if they hadn't been able to hear.

The estranged sisters hadn't exactly been quiet.

She'd almost intervened a few times, but surprisingly, it was Yuuji who had held her back every time, shaking his head slowly, even as his lips curled into a soundless snarl.

Now though, it was silent in the room.

It sounded like they'd finished making up, so now… surely it was fine?

Each and every one of Koneko's cries had cut deeply into her heart, the pain and worry was driving her crazy.

Yuuji's hand released her shoulder, and Rias had to restrain herself from breaking into a run.

Slowly, she reached the door handle, turned it, and eased it open.

The first thing to greet her eyes was a gentle smile, and a slender finger pressed across it in the universal gesture for silence.

Kuroka, sitting on the floor, gently cradling a sleeping Koneko, curled up in her lap.

Not trusting herself to even whisper, Rias gave a teary nod, and quietly closed the door.

"We'll stay one more night, if you don't mind."

Her brother softly suggested, standing just behind her.

She nodded quickly, and almost missed it.

With a far-away gaze, Yuuji whispered something under his breath, almost as if the words had never been intended to be voiced aloud.

"The distance shrank a bit, huh?... Good for them."

Intermingled with the relief in his soft mutter was just the faintest hint of jealousy.

* * *

"So, I hear you're in a relationship with my daughters."

"Depending on who you ask, you might be told that Akeno is in a relationship with me and one of your daughters."

Zeoticus Gremory threw back his head and laughed at Yuuji's blank rejoinder.

A bit more subdued in his mirth than his father, Sirzechs smile was just as genuine.

Grayfia, standing behind the couch where the two Gremory men were seated, merely allowed the corners of her lips to tug upwards a bit.

"That answer tells me you know them well… most outside the family aren't aware that the one more assertive with her affections is Akeno-chan."

"Hard to ignore, really."

"Ah, on a related note, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, Yuuji-kun. Thank you for keeping them safe. While it's regretful that your wounds were so severe, it's immensely reassuring to have someone so capable, and so willing to risk their safety, by the side of Rias and her peerage."

Zeoticus' expression grew stern, the kind of look Yuuji imagined a father would give when his words were expected to be heard and understood.

"But, I'll ask you to be mindful of that in the future. Regardless of how much, or how little, you value your own well-being, you would do well to remember that said well-being does not concern you alone."

"... Yeah. I'm figuring that out."

The trio of adults watched him carefully for a moment, before any sense of tension was erased by the relieved smile of the Gremory Patriarch.

"Good, good. We'll speak no more of it for now, then. More importantly, have you slept with my daughters yet?"

Grayfia didn't have time to express her shock at _that_ blunt question, because Yuuji fired back with zero hesitation, even if inwardly he was once again surprised by the openness towards intimate pursuits that many Devils seemed to display.

"Obviously."

"K-Kazami-sama!?"

"Wait, you mean they haven't told you yet, Grayfia?"

Yuuji asked in honest surprise.

Grayfia recovered her composure with a quiet, long-suffering sigh.

"That is not the point, Kazami-sama. I was merely surprised you would respond so bluntly… which was foolish on my part, in hindsight."

"Yeah, a bit of a blunder there."

"I will be rather cross with you if you stare at me as if _I_ am the strange one here, Kazami-sama."

"They get along well, don't they?"

Zeoticus commented mildly to a smiling Sirzechs, the two men watching the exchange with no small amount of amusement.

"They do, don't they?"

"Care to repeat yourself, Lucifer-sama? I'm not sure I heard you correctly."

Grayfia's eyes had gone cold.

"Ah… no, don't mind me."

"As you wish, Lucifer-sama."

Grayfia responded politely, returning her vision forward…

Yuuji just stared impassively.

"... Yes, Kazami-sama?"

"Well? Did they or didn't they?"

"... They did."

"That's reassuring. I was kind of worried you might have had a falling out or something."

"... What is it about your concern that is deeply, deeply aggravating?"

"Dunno, Grayfia, don't stare at me like I'm the strange one here."

Grayfia opened her mouth to respond, but when no words escaped the lips of the quietly shocked maid, she relented with a soft huff.

Yuuji wisely decided that now wasn't the best time to comment on how cute the gesture was.

"Haha, youth is charming as always, I see. Perhaps I'll ask the more important question now, if you don't mind, Yuuji-kun."

"Sure."

"How do you feel about them, about Rias, and Akeno?"

"You mean, am I in love with them?"

"Precisely."

"I... think so."

Yuuji responded with a small frown, staring at the carpet.

More than a little surprised, Sirzechs went to interject, but his father stopped him with a raised hand, carefully watching the dark-haired boy seated across from him.

Unseen by all, behind the two men, Grayfia's impassive expression softened just a touch, though why was anyone's guess.

"I mean… I don't want to be separate from them. I have the chance to live far longer than I ever imagined… and I want to spend all of it with them… isn't that…?"

Yuuji trailed off, something in his voice suggesting he wasn't quite asking those questions to anyone in particular.

He'd already told _them_ that… hadn't he?

Why was he doubting now?

... Why was he hesitating?

"And will you protect them? Keep them safe, no matter the threat?"

"... No matter what."

"... Then I believe, Yuuji-kun, that the answer to my question is 'yes'."

Zeoticus suggested gently.

Yuuji lifted his head to blink mutely at him, as if he'd forgotten that he wasn't alone in the room.

"There is more to discuss, but I believe I've heard all I need to, for now. So I suppose the last thing I'll say for tonight is… welcome to the family, Yuuji."

Grayfia's breath caught in her throat as Yuuji flinched, just a little.

"... Yeah… thanks."

They left him alone, in the small basement lounge they'd commandeered for the purpose of their conversation.

He didn't move for quite some time.

* * *

"Harudera-sama?"

"Yeah, Grayfia-chan? How'd the interrogation go?"

"No problems to speak of… Gremory-sama has long since accepted the union, he simply wished to speak directly to Kazami-sama… who has not left the room, as far as I'm aware."

"Ah… say no more, I'll go check on him. Thanks for looking out for him, Grayfia-chan."

"You are most welcome."

Grayfia responded with a small bow, feeling confident that JB would be more than up to the task.

It seemed like a poor time to leave Yuuji alone… but she would leave such things to those who knew him best.

* * *

A knock at the door.

She all but flung herself from the bed, ignoring Akeno's giggle (who was actually just as excited as she was), and taking a brief second to compose herself before opening the door to greet-

"You're not Yuuji."

"That disappointment of yours cuts deeply, Ria-tan. Is this the rebellious phase?"

Sirzechs asked, reeling a bit as if wounded.

"..."

"... Well, nonetheless, I am not addressing you as your brother in this moment."

Rias straightened in surprise, Akeno dutifully slipping from the bed to take her proper place at her King's side.

Grayfia rose from her seat but stayed put otherwise, well aware of Sirzechs purpose.

"How may I be of service then, Lucifer-sama?"

"In light of your performance in the recent crisis, We have determined that you have displayed the necessary ability to remove the seal on your Bishop."

"Gasper!?"

Rias blurted out, caught off guard.

Akeno's eyes lit up in barely concealed excitement, her polite, formal smile widening minutely.

"Indeed. We have made the final decision to use Kuoh as our meeting place for the Three Factions Conference, and you would do well to have _all_ of your servants prepared."

"Then, you are saying our presence is required, Lucifer-sama?"

"I am."

"May I inquire as to why?"

"With your struggles against Kokabiel serving the final catalyst for this meeting, We have decided that the testimony of those directly involved will be of value. Sona Sitri and her peerage will be requested as well, and we'll have you serve as the escort for Leviathan and I, alongside Grayfia."

"Understood. We will do our utmost to answer your expectations, Lucifer-sama."

Rias responded, with a confident smile on her lips.

"See that you do. Ah… and the two Fallen Angels, Raynare and Kalawarner, have been requested as well."

"... Should I be concerned?"

"Caution is fine, but I do not believe there is cause for alarm. They are being sought as an affected party, nothing more, and I'm sure the value the treaty has for _them_ need not be said."

"Say no more, I will speak with them, then. Is there any other way I can be of service, Lucifer-sama?"

"No, I believe that will do, Rias. Have a good night."

Sirzechs shook his head, his usual carefree tone returning, along with his smile.

"Goodnight then, Onii-sama."

"Goodnight, Sirzechs-sama."

"You as well, Akeno-chan."

He and Grayfia exchanged simple nods, before the Satan went on his way, returning to his own room.

Closing the door, Rias let out a long sigh as Akeno touched a comforting hand to her back.

"Gasper, huh? Finally…"

"It's okay, Rias… you know he doesn't blame you."

Rias let out an explosive sigh.

"I know, I know… it's just been a long day… Koneko too. I'm happy for her, but that seriously stressed me out."

The exhausted siblings, when she'd last checked, had curled up in Koneko's bed together, years of tension draining gradually from their sleeping faces.

They were okay.

Her family was okay.

Now, it was her turn to unwind… so that tomorrow, she could be as strong as they needed her to be.

Rias and Akeno, in perfect sync, locked eyes and nodded once.

Then they turned on the carefully watching Grayfia with smirks on their lips and hands on their hips.

"Now that that's out of the way."

Rias began.

"Ara, Buchou, isn't Fia-chan overdressed?"

"I do believe she is, Akeno."

Rias nodded wisely.

"Should we offer our assistance, Buchou?"

"It would only be polite."

"... You girls…"

Grayfia began, eyes narrowed in wariness as the two girls approached with gleaming eyes.

There was nowhere for the Gremory maid to retreat to, however.

.

.

.

"Ah! A-Akeno, w-where are you touching!?"

* * *

In the fading light of day, Yuuji grinned up at the ceiling.

"Why are you smirking? So scary!"

JB exclaimed suspiciously, her head facing his on the pillow.

"Nothing, nothing. Just thinking that Rias might have forgotten that my room is directly above hers… and how good the hearing of a Devil is."

* * *

 **Yuri cuddles are good cuddles.**

 **Bit more feelsy than anticipated, but I wanted to get things moving between the two kitty sisters a little (lot) earlier than in canon.**

 **Kuroka, here, is a little more damaged and a little less stable, fitting the tone of the story. The whimsical stray we're familiar with is still there, she's just a little less firm in the act.**

 **Yuuji now has a back-up career in showbiz, is that perhaps his true calling? Tune in next time to find out maybe.**

 **Not gonna lie, I've been looking forward to writing dialogue between Yuuji and Serafall for a long time, so hope you enjoy as much as I did.**

 **If you look back at this chapter and the others, you'll notice the sentence structure has changed a bit. After waffling back and forth for a while, I decided to bite the bullet and do what I want in a more consistent fashion.**

 **Thus, going forward, the sentence structure will mimic that of the light novel.**

 **PS: Almost a year has passed since I published this story, huh? Thanks to everyone who's read and stuck around, and anyone who might join the journey in the future.**


	16. Dreams of War and Peace

**Several flags were raised, and things get a little steamy here and there, but there's no lemons in this chapter.**

 **I swear I'm not trying to blue ball anyone.**

* * *

Blonde hair, kinda wavy (if a bit short).

Bright blue, smiling eyes that watched you like a hawk.

Fair skinned, good looking foreigner, mid-to-early twenties in age.

Put all those things together, and this still, definitely….

Was not JB.

Especially when one considered that the blonde, who had just gently shaken Yuuji awake, was a man in green combat fatigues.

Nope, definitely not JB.

Come to think of it, where was he?

"Morning kid, you have a nice little nap?"

The man's tone was friendly, an easy grin on his face as he leaned forward in his seat.

"All things considered."

"Great!"

The man said, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"So, don't suppose you've seen a ridiculously large and comfortable bed with a pretty blonde woman sleeping in it?"

Or his clothes, Yuuji wanted to ask, since he was wearing a matching uniform.

"Nah, 'we' try not to peek, so I have no idea what your room looks like, Yuuji."

"Thanks, I think."

"JB is probably where you left her though, since you haven't really moved."

"So, what kind of dream am I having?"

"Adaptable, aintcha? Well, that makes things easier."

The man's grin widened, and he nodded his head repeatedly, as if to say 'as expected'.

"Well, calling it a dream might be the least confusing explanation, so let's go with that. More importantly, this 'dream' is actually a memory of mine, where you get to play the starring role."

"... So you are one of 'them', aren't you?"

"You mean one of the fifty odd people you woke up from the Arsenal Memoir, currently trying their best not to clutter up your braincase? Yep, that about covers it."

"There's fifty of you?"

"Something like that. You're waking us up pretty fast Yuuji, and it's getting cramped. Which is why you're here."

The man said, rapping one knuckle against the side of the boat.

As if to punctuate his point, something crashed into the water with a violent 'boom', rocking the boat and sending salt water flying over the high edges of the vessel.

"... Go on."

The man scratched his head, looking a little apologetic for a moment, before the cheerful demeanor fell away in its entirety, and sharp, icy blue eyes locked onto Yuuji.

"The little lady is afraid of you using your Balance Breaker, but trying to keep you away from it will only make it worse. So 'We' decided to intervene, before it screws with your head anymore than it already has."

Hmm, maybe the sculpting incident was the catalyst, then.

Sure, Asako was _his_ memory, but the ability to make high-quality sculptures without conscious thought certainly wasn't.

Unless he had more in common with Kazuki than expected, and he was a late blooming artistic genius.

Probably not.

"Meaning?"

Yuuji eventually asked, the man before him seeming content to wait.

"Meaning, that if you keep waking up Soldiers from the Memoir at the rate you're going, you're going to forget which one of 'them' is you. You're just too damn compatible with our Sacred Gear."

"Meaning you were a past wielder?"

"Your direct predecessor, actually. Wasn't nearly as good with the Arsenal, though, I just always seemed to have one more bullet handy."

"Should I call you 'Senpai' then?... Come to think of it, what _is_ your name?"

The man, the Soldier, just shook his head.

"Don't bother asking any of us that, kid. None of us remember."

As if in emphasis, the Soldier reached over and tapped Yuuji on the forehead with one finger.

"And the reason we're meddling is so to keep you from being in the same boat."

Yuuji turned his head once more, taking in the metal boat they were sitting in, crammed with nervous soldiers checking their weapons, praying, or doing any number of things to distract themselves.

"Kind of ironic, don't you think?"

The Soldier threw back his head and laughed, heedless of the shock it caused among their fellow passengers.

"Kid, I knew there was a reason I liked you."

* * *

They'd sat in a comfortable sort of silence for about fifteen minutes, inured to the nervous tension surrounding them.

Abruptly, the Soldier clapped his hands together sharply.

"Welp, time to go into some more details I think, we'll be landing soon. Go ahead and ask any questions you might have, Yuuji, and we'll start from there."

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. So, first off, why you? Is it because you were the last wielder of the Memoir?"

"Hm, interesting that you'd start with that. But no, not quite. I'm running the show because I have hardly anything to teach you, your tour of duty in the Marines covers a lot of the training I have."

"So why is that important?"

"Simple, the more common ground we have, the less jarring taking a jaunt through a Soldier's memories will be. The point of having you here is to experience what it's like to be one of 'us', one of the souls within the Memoir."

"So I'm going to be tagging along for little trips through Memory Lane like this?"

"Several nights a week, depending on how well tonight goes. Tonight is a test flight of sorts."

"But then, why are we going for an experience similar to mine? Wouldn't it be easier to keep myself separate from something I've never experienced in life?"

"Yeah, we thought that too, didn't work out so well in the past."

The Soldier began to explain.

"You see, because the memories, or Memoirs as we tend to call them, have a sort of bleed over effect, in a way, they _are_ your memories. An inheritance of sorts, I guess you could say. So the greater the difference between your inherited memories and your own, the harder it is to tell which ones belong in which category. Your mind has a weird way of filling in gaps to make your memories seem plausible."

The man gestured with his arms in the air, as if drawing and firing an imaginary bow.

"After all, you've never ridden a horse, let alone fired a bow from the back of one, but you _remember_ learning and practicing that, don't you?"

"... Yeah, I do."

"Which means things are already starting to bleed together, and if we didn't intervene, the next time you used Balance Breaker, odds were good that a big old chunk of Kazami Yuuji would disappear when the armor came off."

Yuuji didn't even bother commenting on the assumption that he would use the Unknown Soldier again.

They both knew better.

"I get it, I think. So how's this going to work? Some sort of lucid dream, I take it, but you mentioned that I play the 'starring role'?"

The Soldier nodded.

"Knew you'd pick up on that. Essentially, you're taking 'my' role in the events that are about to occur, and _I'm_ the tag-along. Of course, I'll help you out, but…"

The man scratched his head.

"Things won't necessarily turn out the same way, you have a starting point and an endpoint, but the middle is up to you. So, do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Dealer's choice."

"Good news, even if something goes wrong, this is still probably a dream, so it won't actually hurt your physical body. Bad news, your _mind_ won't be able to tell the difference, pain is pain, so try not to get hurt. There won't be any long term side-effects probably, but do your best anyways."

Yuuji decided to leave aside the sudden vagueness of the explanation, in favor of the reason the blonde man was looking guilty.

"And the worst news?"

The man's laughter had a sort of strained edge to it.

"This is _my_ memory, one of the most important ones, you could say. So, since you're taking my place, no fancy Devil juju beyond that prosthetic of yours. You're playing a human, so breaking character isn't allowed. And, more importantly..."

His grinning face took on an edge of cheerful, macabre fatalism as he clapped Yuuji on the shoulder.

"Welcome to Juno Beach, Soldier."

* * *

Yuuji had quickly given up looking for opportunities to fire his rifle, when it became abundantly clear that he couldn't even _see_ the enemies that were tearing his comrades to pieces.

… He couldn't hear anything beyond the screams, and the explosions, and the howl of gunfire.

As he hauled himself behind yet another sand dune, Yuuji flattened himself into the dirt as low as he could, flattening his cheek against the rough sand, trying to make as small a target as possible.

This had the unintended side effect of giving him a perfect view of the cheerful Soldier, strolling alongside him without a care in the world, rifle slung over his shoulder and hands in his pockets.

"...You can't get shot... can you?"

Yuuji grit out, not even bothering to raise his voice.

"Nope, like I said, not really here."

Yuuji's theory was confirmed when the man's casual rejoinder cut through the ear-splitting cacophony that was D-Day as it wasn't even there.

Which he supposed it wasn't, in a sense.

"Don't glare at me like that. I sure as hell don't remember some cheeky bastard strolling up the beach, so I bet you don't either. Dissonance is good for you here, I've been told."

"I see."

"You're still glaring though, oops, go left of that dune by the way, the right side is still mined."

"... Thanks."

"You're welcome!"

That irritating smile vanished from view as Yuuji went flat, covering his head as the space, and people, fifteen feet ahead erupted in smoke, flame, gore and sand.

Yuuji lifted his head to come face to face with the better part of a man's hand.

Gingerly, the Soldier at his side scooped up the still oozing appendage, and flung it to the side with a grimace.

"Shame, I really liked that kid too, oh don't try to pass that barbwire, one of the machine-gunners just got his gun un-jammed so he's playing catch-up."

Acknowledging the warning with a grunt, Yuuji went the long way, forcing him to push past several corpses who's faces he couldn't seem to make out, no matter how hard he tried.

And some that _no one_ would have been able to recognize, no matter how hard they tried.

"Man, I really didn't expect you to be this cool with things. I mean, I get that you've been through some nasty scrapes, but there are bits of fellow soldiers like, _everywhere_ , and you haven't even thrown up once."

"Give it time."

"Oh yeah, you're weird like that. Don't worry though, I didn't get far enough to actually kill anyone, so no impromptu hypnotically-implanted illness for you. Oh, and for what it's worth, sorry."

"What was-"

 _ **BOOM**_

Yuuji found himself suddenly out from behind cover, sailing lazily through the air with an odd sense of weightlessness.

The breath crashed from his lungs as the shifting sand proved dense enough to rattle his brain, leaving Yuuji dazed and groaning as he gazed blearily up into the smoke-filled sky.

Beyond the ringing in his ears, Yuuji could hear the Soldier's voice, clear as ever, the jovial tone replaced by something sad and weary.

"Sorry kid, if you get to the end of the memory, well, you get to the _end_ of the memory."

Too addled to consider the implications of his actions, Yuuji pushed his aching body up into a seated position, and promptly flopped on his side like a fish out of water.

Ah, he hadn't accounted for the difficulty he'd have sitting up without any legs to balance with.

 _ **It hurts.**_

Ah, he didn't have any-

 _ **It hurts.**_

 _ **It hurts it hurts ithurtsithurts where are they?**_

"H-h-hey… h-has anyone seen my legs?"

They had to be here- _it hurts_ \- somewhere.

 _Ah, this really hurts._

"For what it's worth kid, you're out of cover."

Yuuji didn't have time to ask what he meant, nor why he sounded so sad about it.

The world vanished amidst a storm of lead and sand.

Leaving Kazami Yuuji one more casualty of Juno Beach.

* * *

Yuuji's attempts to scream himself awake were cut off by a calloused, slender hand clamped over his mouth.

"Shh, be at ease, it's over."

Someone pulled him into their embrace, holding him close as he panicked and thrashed.

"Shh… you are safe for now, young one."

The gentle voice tickling his ear and the soft hand rubbing his back was… pretty soothing actually.

The air was filled with the sweet scent of fruit, underscored by a faint hint of wet grass.

Yuuji relaxed against the woman holding him and closed his eyes.

* * *

It took a few minutes, but eventually his heart stop trying to pound its way out of his chest, and Yuuji was relaxed enough to look around the room- er, tent he found himself in.

Only one of his limbs was missing, and he couldn't see any of his bones, so Yuuji decided to take that as a win.

"... Feeling better now, young one?"

Came the soft query, and the owner of the voice released him from her embrace at last, holding Yuuji at arm's length so that she could get a good look at him.

Dark, sharp eyes met a pair of wide, bright blue eyes… closely scrutinizing him with concern.

The woman, carefully examining him, had soft, off-white hair drawn into a low pony-tail that seemed to curl at the edges.

She was slender and graceful, clad in a short, soft green tunic and sandals that wrapped around the healthy olive skin of her legs, almost to her knees.

If it weren't for the short, curling brown horns above her pointed, white furred ears, Yuuji would have been hard-pressed to tell she wasn't human.

"Young one?"

"Ah, sorry. Didn't mean to stare."

The woman shook her head, smiling gently as one hand was placed against her modest chest.

"No… I do not mind. Your reaction was remarkably restrained, compared to others, young Devil. I've given some of the _human_ wielder's quite a shock."

"So you are another one of the Soldiers, then?"

"Indeed. And if you are wondering, I am the daughter of a human and one of the Epimelides… a Nymph of meadows and pastures, guardians of the roaming flocks and fruit trees."

"Safe to bet I'm in Greece?"

"You will win that bet."

"... I have another question, if you don't mind."

"Just one? No need to restrain your curiosity, young one."

She seemed to find that rather humorous, letting out a soft giggle that relieved tension he didn't know he had.

"A daughter of a Nymph and human seems a bit… uncommon. How'd you end up in here?"

"We were not as uncommon as one might think, once upon a time. Most of us had no need for fortune or fame, even if we understood its use. Thus, unless drawn into the meddlings of the Olympians or their descendants, we, and our Nymph mothers rarely found ourselves involved with the wider world."

"Ah, I see. Sorry if that was insensitive."

"So polite… the others could learn much from you, young one."

As if to reward him, the woman patted him gently on the cheek, a gesture Yuuji was a bit surprised to find himself unbothered by.

Yuuji went silent, wondering what he was being dragged into next.

He was probably going to die again, wasn't he?

Yeah, while Yuuji didn't actually think of himself as all that polite (and many would agree), he just couldn't think of a way to ask that.

"I do wish to apologize, Yuuji."

The woman said regretfully, using his name for the first time.

"Assuming you are successful in following the trail of my memories, you will die, just as you did on that accursed beach. For whatever small comfort it will bring… I did not have time to suffer."

The woman said, hands twitching as if she wanted to draw him into another embrace.

They'd never get anywhere if she hugged him again… that bosom of hers was hand-crafted to create useless, shiftless people.

"In truth, I, We, would have preferred not to bring you into another Memoir tonight… but you handled the first one well and we regrettably, cannot afford to wait."

Yuuji cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.

He'd been screaming not even fifteen minutes ago.

"Y-you did! Your response was natural, but it's getting to the end of the memory that's important!"

The woman insisted, her voice still quiet and gentle, if just a little flustered.

Her fluffy ears wagged up and down, briefly drawing Yuuji's gaze.

"I'm listening."

"Are you, though… no, never mind that, we are short on time. The reason you must get to the end of the Memoir is precisely because it is not _yours_. You are playing a role, and the more you deviate from it, the harder it is to differentiate it from your own reality."

"So you're saying that the less control I have, the better? Seems a little counter-intuitive."

"We thought so as well. But alas, it is necessary to look at this from a different angle. Think of it like this; you were never here. You and I have never met, well over a thousand years, and several continents separate you and I. Why _would_ you be able to interfere in a series of events you have no feasible method of interacting with?"

"Oh… I get it. The more I muck things up, the more it feels like I was actually there to muck things up in the first place."

"Precisely. The reason we are using _my_ Memoir, in particular, is due to the two of us being among the furthest removed, of those you have awakened."

"Isn't that the opposite of the last one?"

"It is, but a variety of approaches are necessary. As my comrade stated earlier, the memories you inherit have a bleed-over effect that makes it difficult to differentiate inherited memories from your own. Thus, what we are attempting here is for you to become familiar with the sensation of that 'bleed-over'."

"I get it, I think… still a little lost, but I'll trust you."

"That means more than you know, young one… no, perhaps if it is you, you understand quite well."

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the flap of the tent being nudged open, letting in the early dawn light.

Yuuji wasn't sure if he was more surprised by the fact it was a horse brushing open the tent flap with its snout… or the fact that he knew this horse.

They had grown up together, side-by-side, after all-

As a sharp spike of pain flit through Yuuji's head, the woman whirled on him abruptly, seizing him by both shoulders and shaking him hard.

No, he hadn't grown up beside the horse… she had.

"Thanks… this is a little confusing."

"No… make no mention of it… but keep this sensation close to heart. We do not wish to lose you… so easily."

The woman said, looking a bit shaken.

The horse neighed in worry.

"Well… if it makes you feel any better, I only just put two and two together. You have a bow hiding around here somewhere?"

The woman, the horse archer he'd inherited both riding and archery from, brightened, and reached past Yuuji into the corner of the tent.

She had a recurve bow about as long as Yuuji's arm, and Yuuji didn't really find it all that surprising that her bow was made of a single piece of what he was pretty sure was elm.

… He took it as a good sign that it wasn't the elm he was familiar with, elm trees from Japan were just a little different.

He wasn't really surprised to see a lack of quiver.

Must be a common use for the Arsenal.

As the woman helped him don the armguard on his right arm, Yuuji decided it was briefing time.

"So tell me what we're working with. Where we're being deployed, what opposition we're expecting, that sort of thing."

The woman hummed softly before she began her explanation.

"A small group of bandits had taken up residence in a small system of caves, in the woods across the meadow, about three hours on foot from here. Until now, they'd been laying low, but recently, they'd decided to test their luck, and one of the shepherdesses had been kidnapped."

A bitter frown spread across her face.

"Fortunately for her, they had yet to lay a hand on her, and so we will succeed in rescuing her, along with the local hunters, and handily defeat the bandits."

Yuuji kept his silence as the woman let out a deep sigh.

"Unfortunately for you, the bandits aren't the only unsavory elements that had taken residence in the surrounding area, and they were unaware of their status as bait. We will be ambushed in turn… and you will be the first to die."

"... Arrow, right?"

Yuuji asked, as they rose and made their way from the tent.

The woman made her way over to the sleek, bay-colored horse that awaited them, running her hands through its dark mane.

"Indeed, an arrow will unseat you… and the fall will break your neck."

The horse tossed its head with an irritated snort, as if well aware of what she was alluding to.

"You did the best you could, you know."

Yuuji's quiet voice asserted, ignoring, for now, that he shouldn't have known that at all.

"... Thank you, Yuuji. I just wish that I _knew_ what had happened to my fellows, to the brothers and sisters I devoted my life to protecting."

The woman turned towards Yuuji once more, and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck, pulling the taller boy's head down to her chest.

Tenderly, one hand ran its way through his dark hair as another weary sigh echoed through her chest.

"I wish that you did not have to suffer the same fate as I. I wish that you did not have to share in my pain, feel my regrets."

Her grip tightened a little, as if afraid to let him go.

"But, more than anything, Yuuji… I wish that pain and regret were something you were less _accustomed_ to."

* * *

He didn't remember anything all that specific, after the second dream was over and done.

For the rest of the night, Yuuji dreamed of a familiar crimson, and nothing more.

* * *

His consciousness gradually returned, but on an impulse, Yuuji kept his eyes closed.

Well, this time he wasn't dreaming, he was certain.

He'd recognize that lap anywhere.

… Yuuji was not one to run from the inevitable, so he'd decided to accept that his ultimate fate was to end up a playboy.

Asako was laughing at him from the great beyond, he was sure.

… She could laugh all she wanted, though, because sex was the one thing she had never, ever beaten him at.

Hmm, maybe he should focus on more important things.

Like JB's lap.

As slender fingers ran themselves affectionately through his hair, Yuuji grudgingly opened his eyes, finding himself greeted once again by that tender, lovely smile she only let show when no one else was watching.

"Good morning, Yuuji-kun."

"Morning, JB… did I wake you?"

The thin strands of sunlight peeking through the curtains caught her golden locks as JB gently shook her head.

"Mm, no, you slept in, just a little."

"I see."

Her fingers continued their gentle ministrations as JB let that faint glimmer of worry shine through.

"Was it bad?"

"Could have been better."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'd rather focus on more pleasant things… like your lap."

JB giggled.

"Shameless as always."

"One thing I don't plan on changing."

"Hehe, well, that's just part of your charm, isn't it?"

Upon saying that, JB leaned down and kissed Yuuji softly on the lips.

"Yeah… JB's wake-ups are the best."

"Ufufu, good to know I've still got it… but we should probably get moving, soon. I have a bit of a drive ahead of me."

"Guess so."

Yuuji said, with great reluctance.

Just as he was gathering the monumental willpower required to lift himself from his silky pillow, a knock at the door sounded.

"... Yuuji-senpai?"

Came the muffled voice.

"That you, Koneko? You can open the door."

The door swung slowly open to reveal not only Koneko, but Kuroka, the latter of which immediately giggled as she saw the two lying on the bed.

Yuuji had taken advantage of the distraction in order to delay getting up, meaning his head was still in JB's lap.

"Yo."

He greeted, lifting one hand in a lazy greeting.

"Nyaa, you never told me Yuuji-kun was a playboy, Shirone."

The younger girl offered her grinning older sister a look of infinite, unflappable patience.

"We all have our flaws, Nee-sama."

Kuroka's only response was a purring little laugh.

Without losing her polite, welcoming smile, JB shoved Yuuji off her lap, and the bed.

As if nothing had happened, Yuuji twisted and planted his feet before hitting the floor, rising to a standing position and stretching.

Koneko quietly clapped.

"So, what's up, Koneko? You two on wake-up duty?"

"Something like that… could we have a minute, Senpai?"

"... Sure."

JB rose gracefully from the bed.

"I'll take this chance to go get cleaned up then, Yuuji-kun."

"Thanks."

* * *

It only took a moment for JB to vacate the room, which led to the current discussion.

"I see… so that's what it was."

"As expected of Yuuji-senpai… I knew you'd understand."

…

…

…

"Excuse me, but would you two mind filling me in? I think I missed something."

Kuroka's polite, bemused request was met with a pair of weary, long-suffering stares, as if Yuuji and Koneko couldn't believe she wasn't following along with the conversation.

… Which had consisted of almost two minutes of expressionless eye contact between the two of them.

"Hmm… we should probably just move on, Senpai."

"Can't be helped then… let's just try a different topic."

"Wha!? W-why do you both look so disappointed!? Hearing you sigh like that really hurts for some reason!"

"I think that should do it."

"You think so too, huh?"

"Yeah… I think we've teased Kuroka enough for now."

"Mhm, let's not bully Nee-sama anymore."

"So it was bullying!? Nyaa… Shirone used to be such a nice girl!"

"These things happen, Nee-sama."

"So anyways, what did you two want to talk to me about, anyways?"

"Ah, that…"

Koneko trailed off and looked away… Kuroka smiled fondly before taking over.

"We just wanted to thank you, Yuuji-kun."

"You're welcome."

"…"

"…"

"Nyaa… you were right, Shirone."

Kuroka's voice was a mixture of disbelief and admiration.

"Told you, Nee-sama."

Koneko still wasn't looking at him for some reason.

"Mhm, you were totally right Shirone… Yuuji-kun…"

She shook her head and sighed.

"Has no idea why we're thanking him, does he?"

"No, no I don't."

"Nyaa… I can't tell if he's just selfless…"

"Or dense?"

Koneko chimed in.

Kuroka nodded, and the siblings locked eyes with each other and nodded once before speaking in perfect sync.

""Probably both.""

…

…

"That was cute and all, but what the hell are the two of you talking about?"

Kuroka rolled her eyes, but her golden eyes met Yuuji's black ones without wavering, before the older Nekoshou bowed her head low in his direction.

"Thank you for stopping me from leaving… thank you for giving us the chance to make things right between us. Really, Yuuji-san… I can't possibly thank you enough."

"... Thank you Yuuji-Senpai… thank you for giving me my sister back."

"... I don't think I did all that much, really… but you're welcome. I'm happy for the two of you."

"... Hehe, seeing him smile like that really makes it all seem worth it, doesn't it, Shirone?"

"Yeah Nee-sama… Yuuji-senpai's smiles are the best."

The two Nekoshou gently patted the dark-haired young man on the head, smiling all the while.

"... Somehow, I feel like the one being bullied is me."

"You're just imagining it, Yuuji-senpai."

"Just imagining it, nyaa."

"That so?"

Nekoshou have excellent instincts.

Which is why Yuuji's mild retort made both of them shiver and retract their hands.

"Nee-sama, Nee-sama, we need a distraction."

"Yeah! Umm… Oh right! Hey Soldier-kun… you're pretty strong, right?"

"I guess?"

Yuuji replied, a little puzzled by the change of direction.

"Well… there's not a lot of us, you know? Nekoshou, that is?"

"I seem to remember hearing that."

"Great, that saves time. So how about it? Wanna make kittens?"

"... It's strange that lately women have just wanted to make babies with me… and is that really something to ask in front of Koneko?"

Koneko was a little red in the cheeks, but she shook her head.

"No… w-well, I think Nee-sama shouldn't skip the other steps, but we talked about it, and if you're interested in having a relationship with her then I don't mind."

"I feel like the women in my life spend a lot of time auctioning me off behind closed doors."

"Not everything is about you, Yuuji-senpai."

"Harsh, but fair. So what is the motive, Koneko?"

"Ah, well I really respect you, Yuuji-senpai."

"I appreciate that, Koneko. So then the reason…?"

"-Is that I'm hoping you'll rub off on Nee-sama a bit… mainly your sense of responsibility."

"W-wha!? Shirone!?"

Kuroka spluttered, shooting her little sister a betrayed look.

"Ah, so it was that, huh? I'll do my best, Koneko. I'll have to talk to Akeno and Rias, of course, but I don't think it will be an issue."

"I understand, no need to rush. I appreciate it, Yuuji-senpai."

Kuroka cried a little when the two quietest members of the Gremory household shook hands to seal the deal.

Secretly though, she didn't really mind, all that much.

Shirone seemed happy, and that was all that really mattered.

* * *

"Well, we'll be heading out then. Thank you for having us. Grayfia will get in touch with you when the details on the conference have been finalized."

"Understood, Onii-sama. Goodbye for now."

"Until next time, then, Rias, everyone. Oh, and a pleasure to meet you, Yuria."

"Bye bye!"

Came JB's flippant farewell.

As the portal flared to life, Grayfia offered a small bow, and Kuroka a cheerful wave.

A brief shimmer, and then they were gone, leaving Rias and her peerage standing in the common room.

"So, Yuuji-kun.., how did things go with Kuroka?"

Akeno leaned into Yuuji to ask in a low whisper.

In response, Yuuji merely dipped his hand into the low-neckline of Akeno's shirt, ignoring her pleased coo (or the spluttering in the background) in favor of rooting around in her cleavage.

It took him an extra second or two longer than necessary, much to Akeno's delight.

Yuuji was considerate that way.

Moments later he withdrew his hand, a small piece of paper clasped between his fingers.

As he unfolded it and spread it across the nearby wall, Yuuji flicked his free hand, and a dull, grey ball-point pen materializing in a wisp of smoke.

Yuuji's answer to Akeno's question came in the form of a name added to a list, with a (?) beside it.

Akeno's response was a giggle.

Kiba had a different response, however.

"... Are we just going to ignore that he considers pens to be weapons?"

* * *

'Well, I think I'll head out too. Thanks for having me, Ria-tan!"

"Grrk… I wish you hadn't picked up Onii-sama's bad habits… but you're welcome. Be sure to visit again soon, JB, you're always welcome."

"Thanks! Maybe next time I'll just come over and have some fun with all of you… not that class visits aren't the best!"

"... JB."

"Yes, Yuuji-kun?"

"If you were feeling pent up, you could have just asked me."

"Ara, me as well, Yuria-chan."

Akeno chimed in, without missing a beat.

"Y-y-you bully, Yuuji-kun!"

"Eh… sorry…what I meant was, it was good to see you, Julia. I missed you."

"Egh… you make it really hard to stay mad when you change gears like that, you womanizer."

"I think you and Asako are partially to blame for that last bit, though?"

"Nope, we can't be blamed for bringing out your playboy nature, pretty sure you were born that way."

"That so?"

"That so."

…

…

"No."

"You mean you won't?"

"Ara, Yuuji-kun looks like a kicked puppy."

"That's not fair at all… fine, fine, I get it!"

JB leaned over and threw her arms around Yuuji's neck, kissing him on the cheek before spinning away with a huff.

"See you later, Yuuji-kun!"

She chirped, as if her earlier reluctance was just a lie.

Which to be fair, it probably was.

"Yeah, until next time, Julia."

* * *

It's the nature of humans that they sometimes act irrationally, that sometimes they act in a way that defies any and all predictions.

Which was why there was currently a middle-aged Yakuza enforcer with a loaded handgun creeping up a set of stairs almost two blocks away from where he was supposed to be.

Two blocks away, his outfit was taking part in a weapons deal with an offshore supplier, and poised nearby was an Ichigaya strike team preparing to take its first steps towards cutting out the problem at the root.

He was nothing more than a face in the crowd, muscle on demand if the deal went sour, or interference reared its head.

Had he been in the right place at the right time, in less than ten minutes, he would be dead.

Ichigaya had made the better preparations, after all.

There was no comparison to be made.

Yet, here he was.

Of all things, he had gotten _lost_ along the way, and was in the entirely wrong building, doing his best to hurry along and slip in through the back so that he only lost a finger or two when his incompetence was discovered.

It was laughable, really, but for one Kazami Yuuji, it was dangerous, even if he was a military trained Devil and the unfortunate man just a human, and not a particularly impressive one at that.

Kazami Yuuji was on overwatch, and thus, he was focused.

Focused, and just a little tired, because he was bored, and had accumulated some mental stress from his dream-world adventures with the Arsenal Memoir.

So a simple case of wrong place at the wrong time had more potential for danger than it should…

For the intruder.

As he hastened his way up what would have been the second to last staircase between him and Yuuji, the shadows, in the corner of the landing he stepped off of, rippled like water.

The man stopped dead in his tracks as a low, ominous growl made the still air rumble.

He slowly, jerkily turned his head, to see a set of gleaming fangs and a pair of blood red orbs that flickered and glowed like candles.

Then, he saw nothing at all.

In the end, nothing had really changed.

One way or another, he was going to die that night.

Such things happen all the time.

* * *

["Good work tonight, 9029. Pick-up in 10."]

"Roger that."

As Yuuji lifted himself off the coffee table he'd been lying across, Ruth came out of the attached bathroom of the hotel room they'd been stationed in, drying his mouth with a towel, in his human form.

"All done?"

"Yeah, all done. Did something happen? Could have sworn I smelled blood for a second there."

"Ah, no, don't worry about it, Yuuji. Hotel had a rat problem. Next time you should probably ask them to station you in a better room."

"I'll think about it. The higher-ups don't really like unnecessary expenses."

{"That so? Oh well."}

Ruth said, slipping into Yuuji's shadow in his canine form.

After all, no one was aware that the legendary 9029 was bringing his dog on the job.

* * *

"Three nights of no Yuuji is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"Isn't it? I never imagined I'd feel so deprived."

This night was just a little different, though.

This was the first Yuuji-less night with just the two of them in quite some time.

Rias and Akeno sat on Yuuji's huge, empty feeling bed side-by-side, in nightgowns they were only planning to wear until they actually laid down to sleep.

A comfortable silence followed… for one of them.

Akeno stared off into the darkness of the room, teeth worrying at her lip as she looked away.

"... Akeno? Are you alright? I'm worried about Yuuji too, but…"

"... Akeno?"

"Y-yes!?"

Akeno gave a little jump as Rias put a hand on her shoulder.

"... What's wrong, Akeno?"

"... Nothing… don't mind me, just woke up feeling a little strange today. I'm sure it will pass."

"Ok then… take it easy, alright?"

Akeno gave a small smile to reassure her, which did exactly the opposite.

It was Rias' turn to look away uncomfortably, struggling in vain to wrap her head around what she had just seen and heard.

… She couldn't remember the last time Akeno had lied to her like that.

Was it something she said?

Had she done something to make Akeno angry and just not realized it?

Or maybe… Akeno had Yuuji now.

She didn't _need_ to go to Rias with all her problems now… if she didn't want to.

She was happy that Akeno had another person she could rely on so fully…

Even if it made her feel kind of lonely.

* * *

Ah, she hadn't realized how much the idea scared her.

She knew Yuuji was fully on board, if she wanted to do this.

That he was fine with whatever her decision was reassured her, it was true.

It was her own fault, really… she hadn't asked the right question.

She asked Yuuji if she could, rather than if she _should_.

He would have given her the answer she wanted… if she'd only asked.

Now, here they were, things were getting more and more awkward, the air getting heavier and heavier as Rias tried to puzzle out why Akeno wouldn't just come out and confess what was bothering her.

Ah, no… she hadn't meant to…

Rias probably thought she was trying to push her away…

When what Akeno really wanted…

Was exactly the opposite.

* * *

"You should get some rest if you can, Akeno. I know it's hard with Yuuji being away, but he did say he might be out all night… and you know I can't sleep when one of you is out, anyways."

Rias murmured quietly, doing her best to keep her tone level.

That, and she couldn't sleep even if she wanted to… her heart kind of hurt.

She didn't want Akeno to see… she didn't want to worry her best friend when in the end, she was just upset about having to share her best friend.

Strange, wasn't it?

The relationship between Yuuji and Akeno had never bothered her before, and it even included her, now.

Hah… she really was pathetic, wasn't she?

Rias had never told a soul, not Akeno, not her parents or her Onii-sama or even Grayfia… but sometimes, when her heart was its heaviest, she thought that maybe her precious household needed, _deserved_ better.

… Better than someone like her.

She flinched a little when Akeno took a deep breath, and from the corner of her eye, she watched her Queen's sagging shoulders set themselves firmly.

Ah, she'd made a decision… good for her.

The idea scared her a little, for some reason.

"... Rias."

Akeno began, quietly, voice so thick with tension she almost couldn't make out her own name.

Rias turned to face her friend with the best, most reassuring smile she could muster.

"Yes, Akeno? What is it?"

Akeno's face suddenly closed the distance between them.

 _Huh?_

 _Huh?_

 _W-w-w-w-what!?_

 _Had she… did she just…_

 _No way no way no way!_

 _Did Akeno just_ _ **kiss**_ _her!?_

* * *

As Akeno withdrew, she could feel her heart sink, as Rias just stared at her in open-mouthed shock.

' _Of course she's shocked, you idiot,'_

' _Just because she loves you doesn't mean she loves you_ _ **that**_ _way.'_

"A-Akeno…!?"

"Ahaha… I-I don't know what came over me… just a joke… hehe… d-don't mind me."

She'd really screwed things up this time, hadn't she?

Rias just _stared_.

"Ufufu… well, I'm going to go get some sleep, just like you said! Think I might try my own bed for once, so… you know, good night, Rias!"

She rose from the bed and spun on her heel, trying to escape as quickly as she could without making it too obvious… scratch that, she just didn't care.

Akeno made it one step.

A soft hand wrapped itself around her wrist.

"R-Rias… what are you… hehe..."

Rias' free hand was pressed to her lips, and her cheeks were so red they may have actually been burning.

"I'm s-sorry… my head went all fuzzy so I just kind of froze up…"

Akeno went silent.

"S-so I'm not really sure what j-just happened."

Oh, was that… were they just going to pretend it didn't…?

It might make things less awkward… right?

Ah, the thought kind of made her heart hurt.

"S-so I w-would a-p-p-preciate if y-y-you maybe… did it… again?"

Rias asked in a weak, hesitant little voice that didn't suit her at all, stuttering like mad.

"Ara? Y-you mean you w-w-want me to…?"

Not being able to trust her voice, it seemed, Rias, without looking at her, leaned over and hooked one arm around Akeno's waist, pulling her towards her and around front.

This should have left Akeno standing above the seated Rias, but someone's -everyone's- legs were shaking, and this led to Rias' knee knocking against the inside of one of Akeno's.

Akeno let out a little shriek as her weakened legs failed her and she fell, before she froze like a deer in the headlights when she realized _how_ she had fallen.

The Gremory Queen had her King pinned beneath her, straddling her on the bed with their noses inches apart.

For what felt like an eternity, neither of the girls dared move, staring deeply into each other's wide eyes as their cheeks burned with an almost unbearable heat.

Akeno was starting to get a little dizzy, and being able to taste Rias' breath with every one of her own wasn't helping.

Nor that a trembling Rias had thrown her arms back as she fell, and now they were limply resting beside her head.

Oh dear… she'd never quite seen Rias looking quite so… _defenseless._

This time, though… it seemed she was slow on the draw.

Before she could make sense of what had just happened, a pair of slender hands clamped against her neck from below, a pair of mile-long legs coiled themselves around her slender waist, and a pair of lips pressed hard against her own.

It took several seconds of Rias' tongue having its way with her mouth for Akeno to regain some semblance of awareness.

Then Akeno pushed her arms between Rias and the bed, wrapping one around her King's slender, toned back, and tangling the other in that lovely crimson hair.

Then she started kissing _back_.

Her tongue snaked past Rias' and coiled around it, beginning an exploration of its own as her soft hum made both their mouths vibrate.

As she kissed and sucked, Akeno slowly pushed Rias back down onto the bed.

Their tongues slid against each other on their way back to their proper places as the need for air became too pressing to ignore.

Panting hard and vision swimming, Akeno pulled herself up from the slackening grip around her neck, but as Rias' arms failed, so did hers, and instead she found herself slumped against Rias' heaving chest as she struggled to catch her breath.

Belatedly, the long legs wrapped around her slid apart and fell limply, leaving Rias collapsed just as bonelessly as she was.

"...Wow…"

"Yeah…"

She doubted Rias knew who had said what, anymore than she did.

The breathless giggle was definitely hers, though.

"Ara ara, I was always sure Rias was a good kisser… but experiencing it was another thing entirely."

"Indeed… well, of course I knew my Akeno was a great kisser… but trying it for myself made me…"

Akeno froze as Rias trailed off, trying to push down that lingering bit of fear as she pushed herself up to stare at the red-faced girl beneath her.

Rias had her head laying on its side, staring towards the pillows with heavy-lidded eyes.

"Made you what, Rias?"

"... Happy… so, so happy… that you feel that way about..."

A split second of silence, before Rias snapped her eyes wide open and twisted her panicked gaze upwards.

"A-Akeno!? W-what's wrong?"

"Eh? What do you mean, Rias?"

One of her King's hands lifted itself towards her face, and a finger brushed itself gently against Akeno's cheek, just below her eye.

That finger came away wet.

"Ara? I'm… what am I…?"

As if to punctuate Rias' point, Akeno felt her body shiver.

"Oh, Akeno…"

Rias moved once again, sitting upright with Akeno in her lap, and pulled her in close.

This time, nothing more than a gentle embrace as a quiet sniffle escaped her Queen.

Her beautiful, lovely, fragile and scared Queen.

"Shh… it's okay now, Akeno. You're okay."

"Ah… I w-was really s-scared… I didn't want to… ruin things between us… I was so, _so_ scared…"

"I know, I know… but we'll figure things out, okay? If you feel _this_ way about me… I'm more than happy to accept… and I bet Yuuji's fine with it too, isn't he?"

Akeno nodded against her, head still buried in the taller girl's chest as she continued to quietly sob.

Rias gently rubbed the girl's back as she let her chin rest against Akeno's shoulder.

"Then we're okay, Akeno. Everything is just fine… there, there… it's okay… I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

"Mm."

Oh, she could do _that,_ couldn't she?

… The things she did for family.

"The thing is…"

Rias pushed on before Akeno could make herself worry anymore.

"I-I've only b-been with Yuuji… so I don't really know how things work with two girls… so…"

She knew she'd succeeded when Akeno's grip stiffened for an entirely different reason.

"I'd like to take things a little slow, but… do w-when I'm ready do you think you could… you know… _take the lead?"_

Akeno shuddered, and nestled her face deeper into Rias' chest.

Rias tried not to squirm too much, as the muffled giggles made her whole body _vibrate_.

When Akeno finally lifted her head, and pushed herself to arms length, her beautiful violet eyes positively _glowed_ with excitement, and her wide smile made Rias' body heat up.

"Mmm… that sounds like a _delightful_ idea."

* * *

Probably about an hour until sunrise… and it was a school night.

He might have been just a bit envious of Ruth, who didn't have school tomorrow.

Or ever, seeing how he was a dog.

Eyes heavy, Yuuji made his way up the stairs towards his room, the one he always ended up sharing with Akeno and Rias…

… Maybe calling it _his_ room was misleading.

Quietly, he opened the door and slipped in.

Often at least one of them was still awake, waiting for him to come home.

It was nice, but he couldn't really say he minded seeing them both passed out like that.

They must not have fallen asleep intentionally, seeing how they were still clothed, and their legs weren't quite on the bed.

They were snuggled up together, lying side by side with their legs all tangled up, Akeno's head resting on Rias' chest.

Didn't look all that comfortable, but Rias' smile was tender, and Akeno's smile was more of a grin, so he decided they were okay.

Still moving without making a single sound, Yuuji folded the blankets over top of them as best he could, and quietly left the room.

He'd borrow Akeno's room tonight, he decided.

* * *

The bell had just sounded for lunch break when she heard it.

It wasn't like Rias was _trying_ to eavesdrop, it was just that most of her classmates didn't know she was a Devil, with all the supernatural senses that came with it.

"Hey… did you notice? Himejima-san seems really, really happy today, it's like she's _glowing_!"

Came the whisper.

"Yeah, I wonder if something good happened?"

Rias closed her eyes and tried not to blush.

Staring out the window, Akeno, who of course had heard the gossipping as well, covered her mouth with one hand to muffle her pleased giggle.

* * *

"Raynare, Asia, protect Kala. Koneko, you and Xenovia keep an eye on Kiba, and Buchou, you and I will watch over Akeno."

Yuuji abruptly declared.

"... Care to explain your choices there, Yuuji?"

Rias requested, as Akeno gleefully snuggled up against Yuuji.

"Kalawarner is an adult in a position of authority, and she's also pretty."

Kalawarner blushed and looked away, even as a pleased smile graced her lips.

"Kiba is probably the one with the most common sense. Ruth and Koneko are both good contestants for that title but Ruth's a dog, and not here, and Koneko is the small and cute girl, so they're in comparatively less danger."

Koneko nodded empathetically.

"Akeno's a dirty girl, so she's the most likely to lose her top and flash the camera."

Akeno let out a pleased hum.

"... Dare I ask where this camera comes into play?"

"Well, Buchou, this looks like the beginning of a horror movie, so I made a threat assessment based on the relevant parameters."

"This is not a horror movie, Yuuji, it's just a seal."

A seal comprised of several layers of slowly rotating magic circles, both on the wood and in the air before it, along with a liberal application of yellow warning tape.

Privately, Rias conceded that her argument wasn't all that convincing.

"Does it lead to an ancient evil?"

"It does not."

"That makes sense, seeing as how I'm pretty sure we count as being from a race of ancient evil, even if we're teenagers."

"Or because I know what's on the other side of this seal, and he's neither ancient nor evil."

"I feel like this is the part where you're going to start sharing exposition?"

"I would have already done that, if someone wasn't acting strange."

"Sorry, Raynare _has_ been acting pretty weird today."

"Why me!?"

Raynare protested.

" _Anyways_. This seal contains my fourth servant… and my first Bishop, Gasper Vladi."

"Another Bishop? How exciting!"

Asia chirped happily.

"So why's he sealed then, Buchou? Anything we should be ready for?"

Rias let out a sad sigh, placing one hand gently against the door.

"No, Gasper is a gentle boy… his Sacred Gear is just too strong, and he can't control it… I was too weak as a King to manage, and so he was sealed here, within this room… something he's rather accepting of, as a severe agoraphobic. "

"What is his Sacred Gear, Buchou?"

Xenovia asked.

"Forbidden Balor View is its name. He can briefly freeze time for anything caught within his gaze."

"Ho…"

"So then… he's been stopping time unintentionally? That's why he's sealed within this room?"

Kalawarner guessed.

Rias gave a small nod and bitter, tired little laugh.

"Actually, he can roam the halls as long as he doesn't leave the old school building, but to the best of my knowledge, he never does. But you're correct. Moreover, his Sacred Gear keeps getting stronger from the repeated use, exacerbating the problem further."

Rias twisted her hand, and one of the dimly glowing circles in the air faded from existence.

"After recent events, my evaluation has risen, and thus, it's been decided that I should have the necessary ability to keep his power in check. A King, such as myself, can stabilize the magic of the Evil Pieces she's connected to, once a certain level of ability is reached."

Rias couldn't stop herself from shooting a look Yuuji's way as she spoke.

"Still, even if he stays in his room, Gasper-kun is the biggest earner out of all of us servants, ufufu."

Akeno interrupted, lightening the sudden tension just a bit, as she moved forward to remove the tape, along with Kiba.

"Yes, he does special contracts over the computer, for those who don't want to risk meeting Devils in person. His earnings are almost on par with that of a High-Class Devil."

Smiling gratefully towards Akeno she latched onto the distraction, Rias finished undoing the seal, and opened the door.

"NOOOOOOO!"

A girlish scream resounded from within.

 _ **Pink.**_

Everything was pink, from the carpet, to the walls, to the TV and game console, to the large coffin…

"Oh, he's a Vampire."

Xenovia stated bluntly.

"Yes he's a- wait, how did you guess that!?"

"Uh, the only place he could be hiding is in the coffin, and this room doesn't have a bed?"

Yuuji chimed in, Xenovia nodding along as if it were obvious.

"Well, you're mostly right. Gasper is only a half-Vampire, so he's what's known as a Dhampir- Gasper, come out of there please, it's time you met the new members."

A crimson, translucent bat fluttered up through the coffin, hovering in the air and staring in their direction.

"I-I can s-see them, Buchou! It counts!"

"No, Gasper, I'd like you to actually come out and meet them face to face, please."

Rias requested, patiently.

Treading softly on the pink carpet, Akeno made her way over to the coffin and knelt down beside it.

"We haven't been able to see you for quite some time, Gasper. Just for a little bit, please? You can still sit in your coffin, if you'd like."

"N-no thanks! B-B-Buchou recruited them, so they're probably super awesome and they're totally going to be disappointed when they m-meet me!"

"No Gasper, that's not true. They're all very kind, and I'm sure you're going to get along just fine."

Rias refuted gently, her tone at odds with her smug smile.

Someone had just complimented her servants, after all.

"Sorry Gasper-kun."

Akeno said, flinging open the coffin.

…

…

That was weird.

Yuuji's internal clock was usually spot on, to the point where his ever-present watch was worn mostly out of habit, but it felt… wrong?

Oh, and there was a small body being held under his right arm.

That was new.

"WHY DOESN'T IT WORK ON ROBOTS!? I MEAN CYBORGS! AH WAIT NO, I'M SORRY IDIDNTMEANTOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The figure under his arm wailed.

Rias whipped towards Yuuji, mouth open wide in shock.

She wasn't the only one, Akeno, Kiba and Koneko seemed just as shocked.

"H-How did you catch him!?"

"With my arm, it seems. Not bad, Buchou, this little guy is hella fast. Didn't even see him move."

"Uh, Yuuji-kun, Gasper isn't especially fast. His Sacred Gear lets him stop time."

Kiba explained, tentatively.

"That's cool too."

Yuuji replied with a shrug, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Belatedly, he held up the young boy under his arm, hooking both hands beneath the far smaller arms of Gasper.

"Kind of thin, aren't you?"

Gasper didn't respond.

"Those are a little too tight, by the way. Wearing them all the time will damage your circulation."

Yuuji was referring to the thigh-high socks Gasper was wearing.

The small boy was dressed in the traditional Kuoh Academy uniform… for girls, that is.

"Y-you don't think it's weird?"

"Your clothing? Nah, I don't really care as long as it was your idea."

Gasper seemed to get the implied question, and nodded.

"Alright then, back in your coffin you go. Keep the lid open for now though, got it?"

"Mm."

As those gathered watched in strange fascination at the bizarre scene, Yuuji, still holding Gasper at arm's length in the air, calmly walked into the room and set the young boy down into his coffin.

Gasper tucked his knees up, and wrapped his arms around them, holding them almost like a shield, but made no move to close the coffin.

Yuuji squatted down in front of him, watching the smaller boy with his blank gaze.

"Better?"

"Y-yeah."

"Good."

No one was quite sure what to make of it when Gasper reached out one shaky, stick-thin arm and patted Yuuji consolingly on the shoulder, pink eyes keen.

"You have it rough too, don't you?"

Yuuji chuckled.

"I manage. Oh, and nice to meet you, Gasper. I'm Kazami Yuuji, you can just call me Yuuji if you'd like. I'm Rias' new Pawn."

"Mm… h-heard lots about you, Y-Yuuji-senpai…"

Gasper fidgetted a little.

"Go ahead and ask, Gasper. I don't mind."

"A-are you and Buchou and A-Akeno-onee-sama close?"

"Yeah, I'd like to think so. What makes you ask that?"

"W-well… when they talk about you sometimes they get really red in the face and fidget a whole bunch… I don't really get it… b-but they look really happy."

"I see… kind of like the expressions they're making right now?"

Rias and Akeno weren't looking his way, apparently embarrassed about being outed.

"Y-yeah."

"Ah, don't worry about it too much. I just know lots of embarrassing stories about them."

"You do? L-like what?"

"... Maybe that should wait until you're a little older."

"Oh, I g-get it."

Gasper, rather than looking disappointed, nodded with a light of understanding in his eyes.

"Buchou and Akeno-senpai say that a lot too."

"Hehe, I bet they-"

Gasper was nowhere to be seen, and the lid of the coffin was firmly shut.

"You in there, Gasper?"

"Y-y-yes? I-I-I didn't m-mean too, I'm s-s-sorry!"

"Ah, no, don't worry about. Mind if I open the lid again?"

"Y-y-you're not mad?"

Came the weak, tremulous little whisper.

"No."

…

…

"O-okay…"

The coffin lid slowly edged itself open, gleaming pink eyes surveying the room before the lid opened the rest of the way, revealing a nervously watching half-Vampire.

"Thanks, Gasper."

Looking a little unsure, Gasper gave a small nod.

"Are you going to be okay, given what time it is? I don't really know much about real Vampires, but all the stories say that sunlight is dangerous for them."

"It doesn't hurt me… b-but I don't like the open air or the s-sun."

"Gasper inherited a special lineage, he's what's known as a Daywalker."

Rias supplied.

"Good to know."

From the side, Akeno produced her phone and looked down at it, clicking her tongue in irritation.

"Buchou, they've moved things ahead. We've been requested as soon as possible."

Rias let out a long sigh, shaking her head tiredly.

"I really hate to ask, but could I leave this to the rest of you, for a little bit? I wish I could stay for this, but things are moving quickly now that the location for the conference has been confirmed. Akeno and I will return as quickly as we can."

"Yeah, leave it to us."

Yuuji replied.

"Yuuto, Onii-sama wishes to make a proper examination of your Balance Breaker, so I'll have you come with us as well."

"Yes, Buchou."

With one last lingering look into the pink room, Rias stepped onto the circle alongside Akeno and Kiba, and promptly vanished from sight.

Yuuji turned back to Gasper.

"Think you're ready to meet the rest of us? Maybe one at a time?"

Gasper beckoned for Yuuji to lean in, and responded in a whisper.

"F-first, c-could you explain a little?"

"Explain a little of what?"

"W-well, my sense of smell is really s-sensitive, but I can't quite make sense of the scents I'm picking up."

"Maybe if you can pick out some specific ones, I can try explaining."

Gasper nodded and closed his eyes, flaring his nostrils gently.

"W-well, one of the scents is kind of human, b-but i-it also reminds me of… sunlight? It's hard to explain b-but it feels warm and bright and n-not really scary e-even though I feel like it s-should be."

"That's Asia, I bet. She's the other Bishop. She's so sweet and gentle that sometimes I feel guilty being in the same room as her, but she's harmless. Thing is, before Rias took her in, she was a freshly excommunicated Holy Maiden."

"H-holy Maiden!? T-that sounds scary b-b-but her scent is r-r-really soothing!?"

"Yeah, don't think about the Church part too much, and I'm sure you'll get along just fine. That answer your question, for now?"

"Mhm."

"Next?"

"W-well, the other Devil I don't r-recognize s-smells kind of like iron and rosemary… n-not really s-sure why but s-she kind of r-reminds me of Kiba-senpai and A-Asia-san."

"Xenovia, I think. She's our most recent addition, a Knight like Kiba. She's the wielder of the Holy Sword-"

The coffin was closed, and Gasper nowhere to be seen.

"Durandal, and she's a former member of the Church, just like Asia."

A whimper sounded from the coffin.

"Yeah, hard to blame you for being nervous, but you don't have much to worry about. She's clumsy and kinda dense, but she has a good heart. Definitely someone you can rely on to keep you safe."

"... O-okay…"

"Need a few minutes, or should I keep explaining? You can keep the door closed, if you'd like, but just for a little while, okay?"

Yuuji was a bit impressed when the coffin lid creaked open a few inches, enough for eye contact.

"W-w-what I don't get… the other two aren't Devils, are t-they?"

"No, they're Fallen Angels."

Surprisingly, Gasper didn't react in any particular way to that.

"I-I kind of t-thought so… they kind of smell like.."

Gasper let out a little 'eep' and the lid dipped lower.

"Like Akeno, right? Don't worry, I already know."

The lid opened wider, as Gasper stared in astonishment.

"Y-y-you do!? Onee-sama is a-a-always r-really nervous about people f-finding out."

"Yeah, she was."

"D-don't tell her p-please… but it kinda makes me happy that she and… that there are others in the peerage born of two d-d-different r-races… m-m-makes it easier t-to… relate? S-she r-really puts me at ease."

"That so?"

"Mm."

"I won't say anything if you don't want me to, but I think it would make her happy to hear that."

"M-maybe… b-b-but it's…"

"Yeah. So anyways, Raynare and Kalawarner are the two Fallen. They have their own circumstances, but they've been living with us for a few months now. Raynare is about the same age as Kiba and I, so she's in our class just like Asia and Xenovia. The older of the two, Kalawarner, is our homeroom teacher."

Gasper remained silent.

"They're both really gentle, so I think you'll get along well with them. They both spend most of their free time watching over Asia, the three of them joined at around the same time."

"D-did they not want to j-join the peerage?"

"Rias offered at the time, but they declined. They work with us though, so not a lot of difference."

"I s-see…"

It was Yuuji's turn to remain silent.

"I-I t-think I'm r-ready… m-maybe one at a time?"

"Sure."

Yuuji turned his head.

"Asia? Could you come here?"

He called, softly.

"O-okay."

Asia entered the room slowly, a gentle smile on her face as she gently sat down beside Yuuji, tucking her legs beneath her.

"Pleased to meet you, Gasper-kun."

She began softly.

"I-I'm Asia Argento, Buchou's other Bishop. I-I don't know much, b-but if you ever need help, you can ask me… I'll do my best."

Slowly, the coffin lid opened enough for Gasper to sit upright, eyeing his fellow Bishop with a hint of wariness.

"N-nice to m-meet you, Asia-senpai."

Asia's smile brightened.

"Yes, I'll be in you care, Gasper-kun."

"L-likewise."

After another second of watching Gasper closely, Asia softly got to her feet, her smile brightening further.

"I'll move out of the way so things don't get crowded. It was really nice to meet you at last, Gasper-kun."

"Y-yeah."

Xenovia stepped into the room next, and abruptly, the coffin was shut tight and several feet farther away from the door.

Xenovia stopped in her tracks, a small frown on her face.

It wasn't often she looked sad like that.

" I should go. Hard to blame him for being afraid of a former Exorcist."

Xenovia said, turning slowly on her heel.

"NO! EEP!"

"I M-M-MEAN-"

"… EEK I'M SORRY!"

Gasper's speech cut in and out, and Yuuji realized his Sacred Gear was going haywire.

Xenovia was still frowning, but this time, her eyes had a bit of a twinkle to them.

"What is it Akeno always says… hora hora? … No, that doesn't sound right. Well, this is a bit concerning."

She turned back to face the coffin, hands on her hips.

"Maybe exposure therapy would work? You'd be less scared of me and Durandal if I chase you around the yard a few times."

"... How would that make him less scared?"

"He'd get numb to it eventually. Training is good like that."

"I think you mean 'trauma'... no, never mind, I'm the last person who should be offering criticism here."

From the doorway, Koneko and Raynare nodded vigorously.

Gasper was less enthusiastic.

"NOOOOO I'LL DEFINITELY DIIIIIIEEEEE!"

Came the muffled wail.

Xenovia cocked her head to one side as if confused, but that twinkle in her eye had yet to disappear.

"Hm… maybe we should start with something a little less dire… like a normal sword…"

Gasper shrieked again.

"Or… how about just a simple introduction?"

As she suggested that, Xenovia got down on one knee, with her head bowed, eyes closed, and one hand over her heart.

"My name is Xenovia Quarta, Knight of Rias Gremory. It's an honor to meet you, Gasper Vladi. I might not be good for much other than fighting, but I swear, I'll do everything I can to keep you safe. Now, if you'll excuse me for now, I'll take my leave-"

"Pssst Yuuji-senpai."

Gasper whispered, cracking the lid open a tiny bit.

"Yeah, Gasper?"

"S-she's really cool, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is… see what I was talking about?"

The coffin lid bobbed up and down in what Yuuji assumed was a nod.

Xenovia had a touch of red to her cheeks as she rose from her kneeling position.

She had almost made it to the door when a trembling voice stopped her.

"H-hang on... s-s-sorry… I can still kind of smell Durandal so it m-made me a little nervous… I'm already a half-Vampire so Holy Swords are s-s-scary…"

Xenovia slowly turned back to find the coffin open, the young boy fidgeting where he sat, watching her with one eye.

"B-but that's n-n-not your fault s-s-so I'm s-s-sorry… n-nice to meet you, Xenovia-senpai."

He offered a weak little smile at towards the girl.

" I don't mind. Once again, nice to meet you, Gasper."

Xenovia smile was tender.

She met Yuuji's eyes and gave a small nod before exiting the room.

"Good job, Gasper. Do you want a little break? Ray and Kala will understand."

"N-n-no… if I take a break I'll convince myself not to try again…"

"Okay then."

At his beckoning, Raynare stepped into the room next, a serene smile on her face.

Yuuji immediately took notice of the fact that the second she stepped into the room, Gasper relaxed, almost in spite of himself.

She stopped a little distance away and kneeled down on the carpet, just like Asia had.

"Hi there, Gasper. Nice to meet you. I'm Raynare, you can shorten that to 'Ray', if you want, though in school I go by the name 'Amano Yuuma'. Feel free to use whichever you'd like."

"N-nice to meet you, Raynare-senpai…"

"... I don't mind, Gasper. Ask away."

"H-how did you end up w-with Buchou and the rest? Aren't Fallen Angels and Devils s-supposed to be…?"

"Enemies?"

Gasper nodded weakly.

"Well, we actually were, to start with. But we all wanted to save the same person, and so Yuuji-kun ended up saving Kala and I like it was just the thing to do… he's weird like that, but he's also very kind."

"... Was it Asia-senpai?"

"It was, how'd you guess?"

"W-w-well… your smile is a little different when you look at her… I'm really sensitive to people's gazes s-s-so I could kind of tell…"

"You picked up on that already? That's amazing, Gasper-kun."

Raynare praised.

Gasper ducked his head shyly, but a tiny smile was on his lips.

"Well, I don't want to take up too much of your time, so I'll let Kala-chan come visit. Nice to meet you, Gasper-kun."

Gasper's smile widened, just a touch as his timid wave was returned.

Kalawarner stepped into the room last, carrying with her the same air of serenity as Raynare.

Sometimes, Yuuji thought of how he didn't really understand what it meant to be a 'Fallen' Angel.

For supposedly corrupt beings, they had a rather calming presence.

His musings slowed to a halt as rather than stop a little distance away, Kalawarner went right up to the edge of the coffin before kneeling.

Gasper stared at her, transfixed, and once again, Yuuji felt that minute lurch he'd come to associate with Forbidden Balor View.

This time, though, the coffin remained open, and Gasper hadn't moved a single inch.

Undeterred, Kalawarner slowly reached out and wrapped her arms around Gasper, gently pulling the small boy against her.

"You were so very brave, weren't you? Well done, Gasper-kun."

-Gasper was in mid-sob when Balor released it's clutches, tiny fists clenched against the back of Kalawarner's blazer.

* * *

"We'll have to take things slowly, Yuuji-sama."

Some time later, an exhausted Gasper had fallen asleep in Kalawarner's arms, and the tall Fallen had carefully laid him down in his coffin, tucking the blankets she'd found over the sleeping boy.

"Yeah, good work, there. As expected of Kala."

She smiled and shook her head.

"No, if anything, I was just reminded of how gentle you can be, Yuuji-sama."

"Well, I can kind of relate to Gasper. Nothing special."

A flash of light brought their conversation to a pause, a concerned Rias, Akeno and Kiba coming into view.

Rias wilted a bit when she saw the closed door.

"No good? I'm sorry for pushing something like that on you."

"No, it went alright, Gasper managed to meet everyone face to face, he just dozed off. Kala's hugs are too comfortable."

Raynare and Asia immediately nodded in agreement, much to the older Fallen's embarrassment.

"I see… I'm glad. Thank you, everyone… so, what are your thoughts?"

To her surprise, it was Asia that answered.

"Gasper-kun is very kind, Buchou, but he's very shy. I… think that if we take things slow and gentle, as long as he feels safe he'll be just fine… and I'm happy to make a new friend."

"I see… yes, I agree with you Asia. Gasper is a sweet boy, even if he prefers to stay inside, now that he has the option I truly hope he can learn to do so without fear. I'll be counting on all of you, alright?"

[Yes, Buchou.]

* * *

"... Are you okay, Asia?"

The girl in question shrieked and jumped in her seat.

Raynare gave her a skeptical look as the pretty blonde floundered.

"Y-yes! I'm f-fine!"

Asia exclaimed, waving her hands about in front of her, and blushing in a decidedly not fine manner.

 _Stare…._

"Really!"

"I believe you. So, Yuuji-kun."

Asia's blush intensified.

Raynare didn't say anything more, one eyebrow raised.

"Mou… fine… I… well I…"

Raynare sat down on the bed beside her, watching patiently as Asia struggled with her thoughts.

"W-well I w-want to… you know…"

"Go on a date."

It wasn't a question.

Asia covered her face with her hands, but nodded.

"So what's stopping you?"

"Well… he already has… Akeno-san and Rias-san are super pretty."

"Yep. And?"

Asia squirmed in her seat, dropping her gaze as her hands fell into her lap.

"Well… I'm… you know…"

Asia made a vague gesture in front of her comparatively more modest chest.

"Ah, I see. Hold that thought."

Raynare said, getting off the bed and opening the door to Kalawarner's room and sticking her head out.

"Yeah, just come here for a sec, would you?"

She took a step back as Kiba stuck his head into the room, looking in curiously.

Asia watched him and Raynare with one eye, a little puzzled.

"Hey Kiba-kun, answer a quick question for me."

"Sure Ray-san, what do you need?"

Gesturing to the timid blonde girl with one hand, Raynare asked a question that left the poor girl blushing even more than before.

"Asia-chan is super pretty, right?"

Kiba gave her a confused frown.

"Isn't that common knowledge?"

Kiba asked, genuine surprise coloring his tone.

"I'd expect conclusive evidence if you said there was someone who would answer 'no'."

Kiba stated, in a tone that suggested he was being asked to state the obvious and didn't understand why.

From Asia's angle, of course, she couldn't see Kiba's wink towards the Fallen Angel standing at the door.

Even if her hands weren't busy concealing her burning red face.

"So Yuuji-kun probably thinks the same, huh?"

Raynare asked, grinning as the blushing Asia stiffened in her seat, and slowly angled her ear towards the door.

"He's said as much."

"HE HAS!?"

"..."

"..."

Asia ducked her head sheepishly at the pair of knowing smiles directed her way.

"I'll leave you to it, I think. Have a good night, you two."

Kiba said, accepting Raynare's grateful smile and Asia's timid wave with a nod and a pleasant smile.

Raynare shut the door gently and grinned towards her friend.

A shy, radiant smile had blossomed across Asia's heart-shaped face, and Raynare fought down the sudden urge to squeal.

"You should ask him, I think."

"I should?... Ask him what?"

"To go on a date with you, obviously."

"D-do you think he'd say yes!?"

Raynare rolled her eyes.

"Of course he will. He probably already would have asked you by now, if, you know…"

Asia tilted her head in innocent curiosity.

"He's probably scared, you know?"

"Of what?"

Asia asked, her confusion written across her face.

Raynare let out a quiet sigh.

"You know how he thinks of himself, don't you?"

She began, quietly.

How quickly Asia's expression fell was answer enough.

"I think he's afraid to get any closer…you're such a kind, gentle soul, and Yuuji-kun wouldn't trust himself to be close to someone like that at all."

"B-but what about Akeno-san and Rias-san? T-they're good people!"

Asia protested, weakly.

"Good people who were too blatant about their intentions for even Yuuji-kun to ignore."

Asia went to respond, but her mouth opened and closed without a sound.

Eventually, she just nodded in agreement.

"So, you're going to have to do the same, otherwise Yuuji-kun will probably never take that step out of fear of hurting you or something stupid like that."

"B-but that's-!"

"That's Yuuji-kun."

Asia went silent, pondering with a small frown on her face.

"..."

"What was that, Asia?"

"... Now I'm mad! Yuuji-san, you dummy!"

Asia huffed, brow furrowed and fists clenched against the sheets.

Raynare, once more fought the urge to squeal.

* * *

"Yahoo, Devil-kun!"

"Creepy old man."

Azazel just laughed.

Yuuji took a seat in front of the table as his client poured him a drink.

"I'm surprised you have time to hang out, Azazel. Aren't you busy with the peace conference on its way?"

"Nah, most of the things requiring my attention are taken care of. I say that, but this is basically my first break in the last week."

"So you're spending it drinking with a Devil? Classy."

"I thought so too."

They knocked their cups together and took a sip, sighing in appreciation.

Strange he may be, but no one could fault Azazel's taste in sake.

"So, I heard your little Ojou-sama was allowed to unseal Forbidden Balor View."

Azazel said, with no preamble at all.

Yuuji nodded, not seeing any point in denying it.

"Any luck with it?"

"We haven't gotten that far. Gasper is a little shy."

"Is he now? Well, it's hard to blame him, seeing how he's been sealed for, what was it, three years?"

"Oh, that how long it was?"

"Something like that. We try to keep track of any high profile peerages as a matter of course, and the Gremory heiress certainly fits the bill as an up and comer."

"Oh right, Buchou is important like that."

"Hehe, you say that like it's someone else's problem."

"I'm just a Pawn."

"Who's dating the Gremory heiress."

"Details."

"Well, that's enough small talk for now."

Azazel said, clapping his hands together.

He stood up, went over to the small TV… and did exactly what Yuuji was dreading.

Picked up a pair of game controllers.

"Ready for a few rounds, Devil-kun."

Yuuji glared.

"You're a cruel man, aren't you? I thought we were entering an alliance."

Azazel just laughed.

* * *

When he returned home, the first thing to greet Yuuji was Asia, with hands on her hips and a determined frown on her face.

' _What the hell, that's cute.'_

Yuuji thought, blinking as Asia's eyes narrowed.

"Yuuji-san!"

Asia pointed one finger at him like a sword, the raised landing allowing her to point almost at eye level.

"... Yes?"

"Go on a date with me!... P-please."

Asia's voice dropped at the end, her nerves giving out.

"Sunday good?"

…

…

"Asia?"

"Y-YES! I-I-I mean yes, Sunday is good, no, S-Sunday is perfect! It can't be any day other than Sunday!"

"Great… I'm looking forward to it."

Yuuji smiled.

Asia nodded slowly, and after a moment, Yuuji looked at her silently and kicked his shoes off, slipping on the slippers they wore indoors and stepping past her.

Raynare, who had been watching surreptitiously from the door to Kalawarner's room, slipped past him with a wink, grinning at his questioning stare.

Raynare liked to think she was good at reading the room, and Asia.

Thus, when Yuuji stepped onto the staircase, and out of sight, and the full gravity of her success finally dawned on the little Bishop, her violet-eyed friend caught her before the little Bishop could finish her swoon and hit the floor.

"There, there, Asia-chan… you did good."

Despite the molten blush and the spinning eyes, Asia was still smiling, from ear to ear.

"Yeah, just perfect."

Raynare decided, a tender smile on her face.

* * *

"I feel like we missed our timing there."

"... Indeed, Yuuto, I think we should just quietly take our leave."

Akeno muffled a giggle, and went after Yuuji.

… Who had passed them by without a word, when he rounded the corner, onto the staircase, and found the entire household sheepishly staring at him, from where they'd been watching the exchange with Asia.

"... Good for you, Asia."

No one was quite sure who had actually said it, but not a soul would deny having thought it.

* * *

 **There's been a lot more 'in-between' stuff after the Kokabiel arc than I expected, but oh well. Next chapter will be the start of the peace conference, which should take the better part of two, maybe three chapters.**

 **Gasper was comparatively more stable here, simply because a greater portion of the cast has experience dealing with trauma. That, and Kalawarner hugs are magic and you'll never convince me I'm wrong.**

 **Just like the sheep girl hugs, because why wouldn't I research different kinds of Nymphs solely for the reason of having a sheep girl in the story?**

 **And yeah, while Rias and Akeno might have gotten that yuri ball rolling, I think it would have been a bit much for them to just go straight to the good stuff, neither of them are Yuuji.**


	17. A Brave New World

**It was kind of hit or miss writing the chapter. Some scenes practically wrote themselves, others refused attendance for the longest time. But I'm more or less satisfied with the result, so hope you all enjoy.**

 **Oh, and had a few guest reviews, but putting the baffling amount of information that was flat out wrong aside, they did say something I wanted to address quickly.**

 **Those of you familiar with Grisaia may have noticed that Yuuji smiles and laughs more in comparison to canon. Well, no shit. The girls from Mihama might have been good for him, but they in no way compare to the amount of interest and affection that Rias and her peerage offer simply as a matter of course, right off the bat.**

 **Yuuji is simply in a far better environment from an emotional standpoint, and it shows.**

 **I hope.**

 **Anyways, on with the show.**

* * *

Today was shaping up to be a good day.

She'd had her best sleep in ages, and she'd woken up to a message from Grayfia-san.

By the time she got off school, Nee-sama would have a Gremory communication sigil synced to her magical energy, meaning that she could directly contact almost any of the Gremory family or their servants.

Such as her little sister, even if said little sister was in the mortal realm.

Koneko, not all that long ago, had nearly given up on seeing her sister ever again.

In a few short hours, she'd be able to speak with her Nee-sama whenever she wanted, finding the time to visit wasn't easy between school and Devil work.

So it was with those thoughts in mind that the quiet little Rook, unseen and unheard by all, sat in her private bathroom, humming softly to her reflection in the mirror as she ran a brush through her silky white hair.

Short as it was, her hair didn't need a lot of brushing, but Nee-sama had always loved her hair, and thus Koneko was feeling extra motivated towards its upkeep.

It was that extra attention that brought that small oddity to her notice.

The clatter of the brush slipping from her fingers went unheard as Koneko stared wide-eyed towards her reflection.

Slowly, her fingers lifted themselves towards the source of her shock, seeking confirmation.

Hair as soft as silk and pale as snow… intermingled with a few strands of darkest black.

She'd recognize that color anywhere.

When she was a child, that color had meant safety, love and warmth.

Now, even though their situation had changed for the better, it still left her confused, and more than a little scared.

It was Nee-sama's color, after all.

* * *

Today was shaping up to be a good day.

She'd awoken to the gentle rise and fall of Yuuji's chest beneath her cheek, and found one of her hands lying across his ribs… fingers intertwined with Akeno's.

That was surprising… usually Yuuji was the first to wake.

The rule was that whoever woke up first got the first good morning kiss, but usually Yuuji was the one to bear witness… and share said kiss.

Rather than the usual, Rias found herself frozen in place as a pair of long lashes fluttered open, sleepy violet eyes blinking into focus as Akeno lifted her head from the other side of Yuuji's chest.

Her best friend gave a cute little yawn and a sleepy smile… which stiffened in surprise as their eyes met.

Yuuji was still asleep.

The heat of her cheeks slowly grew more and more as the implications hit, and from the color of Akeno's cheeks, the same thought had occurred to her.

Yuuji was still asleep.

She wasn't quite sure who leaned over first, but both girls recoiled as gently as they could when their lips met, neither of them having quite realized that the other had moved at all.

A pair of shy smiles bloomed in the stillness of the early morning.

Yuuji was still asleep.

He had no intention of correcting them, should they choose to believe that.

… Today was shaping up to be a good day.

* * *

Another long night.

More sitting in on dreams of war and death.

More watching in secret to insure that the dead weren't just using his dreams as a convenient method to pass their grudges along.

So far, so good.

As long as they kept their intentions pure, he'd keep his silence, and Yuuji would never have to know that he was involved in any way.

Just so long as they were acting in Yuuji's best interests.

Though…

If that ever changed, he'd just have to show them that there were some things in this world…

 _ **That not even death could save you from.**_

* * *

 _K: Yuuji-senpai, can you spare me a little time at lunch?_

 _Y: Sure_

Yuuji caught Kalawarner's pointed stare as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

In a classroom as small as this, it's not like he could have hid it.

Not when his teacher's senses were sharp enough to hear the buttons being pressed, but they were both well aware.

Yuuji's wordless response was a soft, puzzled frown, and a minute shake of his head.

Kalawarner merely cocked an eyebrow and decided to let it slide, for now.

* * *

"So what's up?"

"... Just antsy, I guess. Thanks for this, Senpai."

"No problem. That's ten, by the way, time to switch."

"Mm."

"... You need better dye, Koneko."

Koneko froze, making her current pose seem all the more bizarre.

She was upside down, and and a bit over six feet off the ground in a hand-stand.

Yuuji was staring up at her in confusion, hands stretched above his head and fingers interlocked with those of the smaller girl.

They'd decided on 'Toujou-style push-ups' for the name, and simply put, it was handstand push-ups where the individual with their feet on the ground, held up the person doing the push-ups.

Not particularly challenging with the supernatural strength involved, but they both found it relaxing and would use it as an excuse to indulge in each others quiet company.

"... I don't know what you mean."

"Your face isn't that far away, and I know what naturally white hair looks like."

"..."

"..."

"It was four strands of hair."

"I know, I counted."

"... You're really not going to ask?"

"I'll listen if you want to talk."

"... You could be a little more pushy you know, Senpai."

"You say that as if I'm planning to let you down anytime soon."

"... Bully."

"I'm told that's one of my good points."

"... Akeno-senpai doesn't count."

"... I can order you better dye from the US. Should come in in 2-3 business days if I order express."

Gratefully, Koneko allowed the slight shift in direction.

She really hadn't expected him to notice.

Silly of her, in hindsight.

"... Think anyone else would notice before then?"

"Buchou might, if you give her reason to worry. She's probably the most perceptive of everyone when it comes to things bothering her servants."

"I'll be careful."

"Best you can do, I suppose. Feeling better?"

"Little dizzy, I think."

"Close enough."

Yuuji said, as he lowered Koneko to the floor.

Koneko stared at the floor in silence for a moment, fidgeting a bit until she made up her mind.

Yuuji lifted an eyebrow in surprise as the little Rook gave him a quick hug around the waist before stepping away, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Thanks, Yuuji-senpai."

"Didn't think I did all that much, but you're welcome."

"You thought wrong."

"That so?"

A tiny nod and a tiny smile.

"... Well alright then."

* * *

"Yeah, that's it, don't try to jump or anything, just bring your legs up and let gravity to do the work."

"Like this?"

"Yeah, now, lock your top leg over the heel and squeeze."

Akeno complied, dropping her upper leg and beginning to constrict, pulling on Yuuji's arm as she did.

Her legs were currently encircling Yuuji's extended arm and neck, forming a triangular shape.

Yuuji was still on his feet, legs slightly bent, but Akeno's upper back was on the ground, and his extended arm pointing towards her.

… Yuuji was teaching her the triangle choke.

"Good, this is pretty painful, getting a little short of breath here."

Yuuji said, though his voice didn't suggest that at all.

"It worries me that you say that so casually, but at the same time I think I like having my legs wrapped around you."

"That's fair."

Yuuji stopped her from breaking the hold with a hand on her leg.

"Hang on, I want you to try something. You've been working on channeling your lightning, right? Try running a current through your legs."

"Ara? That seems dangerous."

"It'll be fine, just don't go overboard."

Giving him a dubious look, after a moment, Akeno complied, channeling a small jolt of her lightning through her body.

She'd developed a reasonable skill at imbuing her strikes with her element, but grappling was a new thing.

Yuuji convulsed a bit and slumped, dropping to his knees.

"... Yuuji?"

Yuuji jolted, lifting his head up again.

"... Huh, blacked out for a second there, not bad."

"YUUJI!"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it. This level of abuse hardly counts as training."

Akeno glared.

"Hm, that works pretty well I think. Forcing loss of motor function in a grapple is pretty nasty."

Yuuji said, not reading the mood at all.

"... You scared me, you know."

Yuuji blinked slowly.

"... Sorry… wasn't my intention."

So focused was she on Yuuji, Akeno only belatedly realized that her legs were still around his neck, even if she wasn't applying pressure at the moment.

Immediately she went to rectify the situation, but Yuuji stopped her once more.

"Oh no you don't, mister. That's enough experimenting out of you."

"Ah, no, this is different. More like an apology."

Akeno watched him carefully, a soft glare on her lovely face, but decided she'd trust him.

… She'd sic Rias on him if he scared her like that again, though.

" Let go of my arm, and brace your core, Akeno."

Puzzled, the Queen nonetheless complied.

She let out a tiny squeak as Yuuji then proceeded to hoist her into the air, standing up straight and leaving her sitting on his shoulders, leaving his faces inches from something lacy and dark she'd worn just for him.

Today's after school session had been a 'train in your uniform' day, largely motivated by her desire to show off the combination of long legs, a short skirt, and plenty of motion to Yuuji.

Private time was private time, no one could blame her for taking the opportunity to seduce her boyfriend.

Expression not giving away the slightest hint as to his intentions., Yuuji slowly began to walk forward.

Seconds later, she found her back pressed gently against the rough bark of a nearby tree.

Then a mischievous feeling breeze whispered through the trees and teased its way up under the short fabric of her skirt, and the breath held in anticipation slipped from her mouth in a startled gasp.

"W-when did you even!?"

Seems she was a bit more _exposed_ underneath than she had thought.

Out of the corner of her eye, Akeno could see that lacy and dark something she'd been wearing lying discarded on the ground.

"I have my ways."

Her response was silenced by an expertly timed flick of Yuuji's tongue.

Akeno let out a low moan, suddenly glad for the trees support as Yuuji's tongue began dragging slow, wet circles against exposed flesh.

Slender fingers entwined in Yuuji's hair, sweet, delicate moans filling the air as Akeno felt herself driven over edge after blissful edge.

* * *

Rias was waiting for them as they stepped out of the teleportation circle, Akeno's legs feeling a bit weak for the full walk.

"Welcome back you two. How'd it go?"

"Just fine, Buchou."

Blue eyes narrowed in faint suspicion as Akeno merely responded with a lusty giggle.

"Gasper should be awake in another hour or two, Yuuji, so go get cleaned up."

"Will do."

Yuuji passed Rias, heading up the stairs, and Akeno, eyes still twinkling, followed suit.

She was almost to the first landing when Rias called out.

"Oh, and Akeno?"

"Yes, Buchou?"

Akeno twisted back to face Rias, her curiosity growing as she found herself met by a teasing smirk and raised eyebrow.

"You seem to have left your panties behind."

Akeno froze, slowly turning redder and redder as it dawned on her that yes, it was still a little breezy.

Slowly, her hands linked behind her to press down the back of her skirt, and her legs pressed together.

A cough from above drew the gazes of both girls towards their expressionless lover.

Yuuji decided that that moment was as good as any.

"Don't worry, Buchou."

Yuuji began formally, slipping one hand out of his pocket and baring its contents to the air.

"She might have, but I didn't."

Today was a good day.

* * *

Yuuji gently rapped his knuckles against the thick wooden door.

"Y-yes!?"

Came the muffled squeak from within.

"It's Yuuji. Mind if I come in?"

"S-sure! P-please do!"

Yuuji swung the door open, immediately finding his eyes once more assailed by pink from every conceivable direction.

Across the room, sitting in his coffin and hiding behind his tucked up knees, was a young boy in a Kuoh Academy girl's uniform.

"... Good job Gasper, you managed not to freeze anything when I knocked."

"W-well I c-caught your s-scent… so I was paying a-attention…"

Gasper attempted to deflect the praise, even as his shy smile grew and his bright pink eyes glittered.

Yuuji was fairly certain that Rias had something to do with the fact that every pink item in the room matched the exact shade of her Bishop's eyes.

"Progress is progress, Gasper. Pushed you pretty hard yesterday, so I think we'll just do a few little exercises tonight, sound good?"

This was the third night since Gasper had been unsealed, and Yuuji had visited him on every one.

Thursday, the day before, had been a cloudy night, and Gasper, for the first time in years had actually roamed the halls of the old school building.

Kalawarner had accompanied them too, that night, gently holding the small boy's hands as he took his first tentative steps outside the confines of his room.

He had made it all the way to the clubroom, and had managed to sit down on the couch for a few minutes, before the sky started to clear and the moon began to poke out.

It might not have seemed like anything special, but it was further than the little Dhampir had travelled from his room in years.

Yuuji, it seemed was perhaps the best suited to deal with the traumatized, anxious young boy, having experience _being_ a traumatized, anxious young boy.

Next were the two the two Fallen Angels, empathetic to the extreme, and well-experienced with dealing with timid souls such as Asia.

Whether Devil, Fallen or even Familiar, the household had all come together to socialize and help Gasper, at least, as much as they could without overwhelming the poor boy.

Well, Suu had only tried once, an attempt that had been oddly successful, considering that Gasper didn't like to be touched by most people, and Suu only really understood physical affection.

She would still have to be small doses, it seemed, as the odd level of success brought upon by Slime-hugs had left Gasper just as bewildered as everyone else.

Progress indeed.

Gasper watched Yuuji carefully, waiting for the older Devil to gather his thoughts.

"Yeah, we'll just play catch for a bit, I think. Then we can call it a night if you're feeling tired, or we can do something you'd like to do."

"D-does that m-m-mean we can…?"

"Play video games?"

Gasper nodded hesitantly at Yuuji's weary tone.

"Sure, we can indulge your sadistic tendencies for an hour or two."

"It's o-okay, S-senpai! W-w-we can p-p-play with e-e-easy b-bots… I'm s-s-sure you'll g-g-get at least one kill t-today!"

Came the Dhampir's earnest reassurance.

"I don't need your pity, fiend."

Gasper giggled in spite of the bland complaint.

He was sensitive to people's tone enough to know that Yuuji didn't _really_ mind, not when videogames fell within the meager umbrella of activities that he could take some small measure of pride in.

Yuuji walked slowly to the couch and plucked the bright pink foam dodgeball off of it.

* * *

Done her paperwork for the evening, Rias rose from her desk, stretching her arms over her head in a motion that did all sorts of interesting things with her chest.

Suppressing a yawn, the Gremory heiress softly picked her way through the dim halls and down to the first floor of the old school building, towards Gasper's room.

She was hoping that before long, she could convince Gasper to move into the Gremory dorm, but she didn't want to bring it up to soon and make him feel pressured, something that was all too easy, much to her sorrow.

Her thoughts were interrupted by ghastly, inhuman laughter filling the air.

The eerie, slightly high-pitched sound reverberated through the old building, filling the halls with its uncanny echo, and…

Bringing a tender, if bemused smile to the Gremory King's lips.

As she peeked her head slowly around the doorway where the sadistic laughter had originated from, Rias blinked in confusion, not quite sure what she was seeing.

Gasper, continuing his mad cackle, had his head thrown back and his sharp incisors bared, and Yuuji was slumped in his seat, glaring somewhat moodily at the screen.

On said screen, split between two angles, were two figures in colorful, futuristic armor.

Judging by the twisted limbs and still form, the blue figure was probably dead or at least dying, and what she assumed was the victor in red was looming over the head of the prone body.

… Alternating rapidly between standing and crouching, pointing his (?) firearm at nothing in particular.

Well, she had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but Gasper was clearly having fun, so that had to count for something, right?

… She decided not to consider the possible implications of having yet another sadist revealed among their ranks.

* * *

Yuuji ducked smoothly beneath the flash of gold arcing towards his neck, and found himself impressed (and nearly caught off guard) by the follow-up.

Rather than try to correct herself after the missed swing, Kalawarner merely let her axe carry her into a spin, and rather than loop around for another swing, merely bent at the waist and thrust one spandex covered leg sharply out behind her.

Smiling, Yuuji met her kick with both feet, leaping into the air to take advantage of the stable platform provided by Kalawarner's flat-tops.

The sheer force behind it sent him flying across the clearing, but, having prepared for the power the Fallen could put behind her blows, spent his trip through the air firing from a summoned handgun.

Kalawarner had finished her turn, though and was facing his direction once more, whirling the axe in the air in front of her to deflect the shots.

The second Yuuji stopped firing, her axe warped smoothly into a spear of light, one promptly hurled through the air towards the distant Pawn.

In a teasing mirror of her earlier move, Yuuji twirled out of the way, a faint plume of dull grey smoke heralding a switch of weapons, as Yuuji hurled a blunt javelin right back at her.

With one eyebrow raised, Kalawarner snatched the offending projectile out of the air and buried it point-first in the ground, it's lack of an actual edge not hindering her in the least.

Yuuji was still chuckling as he charged once more into the fray.

Spear after spear of light was shot out of the air in dull streaks of grey, but he was forced to leap as Kalawarner's last throw before they closed took the form of a spinning windmill of golden death

A thrown axe, rather than a spear.

Kalawarner brought up her forearm in time to catch Yuuji's dropkick, showcasing her strength as it only knocked her back a pace.

Wincing, Kalawarner lashed out with a new, long spear in a wide, upward sweep, which the still airborne Yuuji evaded with a hasty extension and beat of his wings.

Kalawarner plunged towards him as he landed, thrusting with both hands.

A decision she immediately regretted, as Yuuji recovered far, far faster than expected and came in _under_ the thrusting polearm.

She quickly corrected and brought up the blunt end towards his chin, but not quickly enough.

Yuuji twisted around it like a snake, and then he was behind her and out of view.

She dropped to one knee as the other was kicked out from behind, and then promptly froze as a cold barrel was pressed against the back of her head.

"Ah… I yield."

The barrel receded.

"Not bad Kala, you nearly skewered me with that last thrust."

"I would not have _skewered_ you, Yuuji-sama…"

She protested firmly, before a sly smile crept onto her face.

"Perhaps broken a rib or two at best."

She suggested cheerfully.

She was joking of course... probably.

The possibility was not zero?

Kalawarner had 'dimmed the light' so to speak, and thus, even to a Devil, her weapons of Light were at best unpleasantly warm, and had no sharp edges to speak of.

It was equally true that even with a half-hearted effort, she could still use that condensed Light to shatter stone.

"Sure, sure, but, seeing how my legs are still numb from the kick, I'm glad you missed."

"I can carry you, if you wish, Yuuji-sama."

Kalawarner offered as she stretched, the sports bra she was wearing allowing for a fascinating jiggle.

"... I'm not sure if I'm disturbed more by the enthusiasm of the offer… or the fact that somehow that offer is tempting."

"... Even grumpy teenage boys wish to be spoiled at times, I imagine."

"... "

"Or is the truth perhaps that Yuuji-sama is a 'tsundere', as Akeno-san is fond of saying?"

"... Let's go with the first one."

"As you wish, Yuuji-sama."

Kalawarner wasn't sure who chuckled first, but in the end, it did not matter, she supposed.

"So, Yuuji-sama, was the test successful?"

"Well, didn't use any bullets at all that time, so sort of? Since you blocked a couple, tell me, how was the impact?"

"Ah, I do not mean to be rude, Yuuji-sama but I believe your fist would have been more effective."

"... So perfect for sparring but not much else. I can live with that."

Branching out in his control of magic, under the guidance of Akeno, Yuuji had been practicing channeling demonic energy through his firearms, allowing him to fire bursts of magic through them rather than bullets.

Which sounded awesome, if it weren't for the fact that Yuuji sucked at it.

Sure, not having to reload was nice, but his bullets were faster, and the force of the 'Devil Shot' (as Rias had insisted on naming it) amounted to less than Yuuji could muster with his bare hand.

His flesh and blood hand.

Unconcerned, Yuuji had settled upon the idea of using it for training purposes, allowing him to work on his energy control, even during a spar.

Kalawarner had graciously offered herself as a volunteer, the current half-day being a particularly quiet one for her.

The Fallen Angel reached into a glowing circle, pulled her cell phone free, and swiped her thumb across it.

"... Our timing was good, it seems. Asia is just wrapping up her client's request, so I'll have just enough time to get cleaned up before we need to leave."

"Well don't let me keep you, then. Thanks for your help, Kala."

"You are most welcome, Yuuji-sama."

"..."

"..."

"What?"

"Are you certain your legs are feeling better, Yuuji-sama?"

"That note of hope in your voice suggests I haven't been working you hard enough... let's play tag, Kala."

"Ah… no, t-that is quite alright, Y-Yuuji-sama… p-please put that away."

"Hmm, it almost sounds like you thought I was asking."

Kalawarner wasn't sure if she found the casual, subtle menace of his smile worrying or arousing.

In the end, she decided that the answer was perhaps a bit of both.

* * *

She'd been afraid they'd have to cancel.

Everyone was back home, and the majority of the girls were getting ready to leave.

Xenovia, feeling lost on the topic, hadn't wanted to draw the focus away from Asia, and had assuaged the Bishop's concerns by requesting her help for a later repeat.

Koneko had taken advantage of her free weekend and left, to spend the night at the Gremory manor, and more importantly, with Kuroka.

There were two of them though, the Strays her peerage had been called upon to eliminate on short notice.

They could probably manage without Koneko, but…

She had just begun to let free a sigh of regret when Yuuji pressed a finger over her lips.

Wordlessly, her lover had clasped her hands and pulled her from the bed and to her feet.

Then, he had walked them backwards and out of them room.

Rias quirked an eyebrow as Yuuji gently shut the door.

Sensing that none would be forthcoming, Rias had opened her mouth to request an explanation when she abruptly found said mouth being thoroughly dominated by another, and herself forced up against the door with a leg hitched up between her thighs.

Less than a minute later, it occurred to Rias that the soft thing beneath her was carpet, the hallway was spinning before her eyes, and she was very much out breath, and more than a little turned on.

Dimly, she heard knocking on Kiba's door, and a mild report that Yuuji was planning to take his dog for a walk, and him asking if her Knight was free to join in.

She had regained enough of her wits to say any number of things she should probably have been saying, when the two boys passed, Yuuji blithely commenting that he was going to ask Xenovia if she wanted to stretch her legs.

Her smiling Knight had called back over his shoulder that they would be back in time for dinner.

Rias had recognized that then was her last chance to say something, to wield her authority as King.

It was rather warm in that hallway, and it seemed the heat was getting to her, so she decided she'd remain seated, just a little while longer.

Somehow, she knew there was nothing she need worry about, beyond her planned outing with Asia.

* * *

"That's adorable and we're buying it… but you're also not wearing that tomorrow."

"Hmm, no, that won't do, not for tomorrow, anyways."

"O-okay…?"

"Ah, allow me to explain, Asia-san. It's just a bit too 'innocent', I believe. Yuuji-sama already sees you as something precious to be protected, now we want him to become a bit more conscious of the reality that the precious one he seeks to protect is also a woman."

"Hey, this one looks pretty good! Try it on, Asia-chan!"

"O-okay!"

"Ooh, good eye, good eye, now what if we added…"

.

.

.

"How is it, Asia?"

"..."

"..."

"I-is it… no good?"

"... I think I need to sit down."

"Ara, how dangerous, Yuuji-kun has no idea what he's getting into, does he?"

"Wow… that's perfect Asia-chan!"

"It is!? I-I mean… it's not _that_ different from what I normally wear… is it?"

"No, perhaps not, but you need to feel comfortable in the outfit for it to work… that, and you look lovely, Asia-san."

Asia's only response was a bashful giggle that no heart was ever fully prepared for.

* * *

It looked sort of like a minotaur, he supposed.

A rotund, kinda greasy minotaur with a few too many horns and a toothy, fanged maw in it's rolling gut.

The extra weight didn't slow it down, it seemed, if its thunderous, building shaking charge was anything to go by.

A charge that became something more like an awkward, flopping roll, when the slug obliterated its kneecap from the side.

No less dangerous, for all the lack of control, and more than enough to smear the slender, blue-haired girl before it into paste.

If the slender girl hadn't pulled a not-so slender Holy Sword out of thin air.

A roaring wave of golden light bisected the grotesque creature, and two smoking pieces of Stray Devil rolled to a weak, squishy halt just past its killer.

Yuuji shot a quick thumbs up to Xenovia as she planted Durandal in front of her, turning her attention towards the rafters and…

A deep, rumbling snarl, barely audible over the horrific screeches of pain and terror.

The second Stray came plummeting from above, its one remaining wing beating uselessly.

Neither Yuuji nor Xenovia made any move to intercept.

Like a beacon in the dark, a single length shimmering steel erupted from the ground to meet it.

The Stray's screeching cut off as the blade passed beneath its chin, and gravity did what little work was necessary to separate head from neck.

A cheerful smile on his lips, the other Gremory Knight dispersed the bloodstained blade with a casual wave of his hand.

Ruth slipped through the network of warehouse shadows to return to ground-level as Kiba turned towards the others.

"Subjugation complete."

* * *

She had everything she needed, everything she wanted to prepare for her date with-

Asia Argento blushed to the roots of her golden hair, squirming in bed as she stared up at the dark ceiling.

In the darkness and stillness, all she could hear was the rapid pounding of her heart, and-

"Asia-san."

Asia's hands clamped over her mouth to muffle the shriek that nearly escaped.

"... Y-yes?"

Came the meek little whisper, as she turned her head to see a pair of golden eyes and an understanding smile.

"You are fidgeting."

"A-ah… I'm s-sorry… did I wake you?"

"No."

"Oh… t-that's good."

"Indeed. More importantly, you need your rest if you're to enjoy tomorrow to the utmost."

"O-okay…"

Kalawarner gazed blankly at her for a moment.

Asia squirmed beneath the sheets.

"... K-Kala-san?"

"I see, so that's how it is."

"... Huh?"

Rather than reply, Kalawarner merely stretched out one slender arm and turned the small girl onto her side, allowing the Fallen to lightly press the little blonde's head against the softness of her chest with one hand, as the other draped across Asia and rested against Raynare.

Raynare, not needing something so trivial as wakefulness in order to read the mood, nestled in closer on Asia's other side, trapping the Devil by pressing her forehead against Asia's slender back as she murmured softly in her sleep.

"K-Kala-san?"

Asia mumbled, voice a little muffled by Kalawarner's huge breasts.

Once more, Kalawarner replied in a somewhat indirect fashion.

Asia stiffened as a sound, as mystifying as it was lovely, began to gently drift its way through the still air.

It took her several seconds of awed silence, and feeling the sound resonate rhythmically through Kalawarner's chest, for Asia to understand just what she was hearing.

It was nothing more than simple lullaby, hummed softly by a woman with her arms wrapped around those she cherished most in this world.

Nothing more than a simple lullaby, that Asia Argento would fondly remember for the rest of her life, even as it steadily lured her into a deep, contented slumber.

In total defiance of the sudden tightness of her chest, or the hint of moisture in her eyes.

Just a simple lullaby, sung with nothing more than the honest desire to ease a loved one's worries.

A simple act that Asia had long yearned for in secret… a simple wish, granted that very night…

For the very first time.

* * *

"... Yuuji-san?"

"Oh, there you are, Asia."

"Y-yes! G-good morning, Y-Yuuji-san."

"Hmm, I'm not sure I want to leave the house anymore. The idea of another guy getting to see you dressed like that has me feeling territorial for some reason."

"D-does that mean!?"

"Yeah, it does. You look beautiful, Asia."

"Ehehe~."

Asia's date outfit was centered around a delicate white dress that reached to about midthigh, the hem and neckline shifting to gossamer, translucent fabric that allowed a glimpse of cleavage without exposing much of it to the open air.

Tied around the waist was red ribbon belt adorned with a fabric rose, and a thin cardigan sat on Asia's pale shoulders.

Offering a slight contrast were the ankle boots that covered her small feet, the sturdiness of their design and the raised heel helping to offset the delicate nature of the rest.

Yuuji wasn't making any particular expression, but the glint in his slightly narrowed eyes suggested that yes, she was being noticed, and this time, in the way she wanted most.

Asia did her best to keep her victory cheer internal, not that the triumphant edge to her beaming smile escaped notice for long.

Nor did the way her cheeks reddened when Yuuji offered his arm, with just the tiniest hint of a smile.

She didn't even notice when Yuuji, on the way out the door, offering a careless wave to the women who had watched them go in silence.

* * *

"Geez, did you see that? It's ridiculous how cute she is!"

"Indeed, the way her smile lights up the room is hard to ignore."

"You know, we usually spend Sundays with Asia-chan so I'm not really sure what to do with myself."

"On most days I would have papers to grade and coursework to prepare, but I managed to finish that last night."

"Sooo… that means you're free?"

"It does, and it also leaves me to wonder as to the last time we went out and enjoyed ourselves, just you and I."

"... Been a while, huh? Okay, let's do it, Kala-chan!"

"I would like that, Raynare."

"Then it's a date! Heehee~!"

* * *

"You wanted to go here?"

"W-well, I've kind of always wanted to try, and Gasper-kun actually gave me the idea that you might have fun too. Is it… is it no good?"

"I'm not looking at you when you make that face… yeah, let's do it. At worst I'll just get to sit back and enjoy that cute little frown you make when you concentrate."

Asia puffed out her cheeks with a cute little frown as Yuuji nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, that's the one."

Pulling open the glass doors, the young couple found themselves assailed by a world of flashing neon lights, discordant electronic noise, and a constant hum of excited laughter and good natured complaints.

In other words, the arcade.

"Wow… people look like they're having so much fun!"

"Hmm, yeah… this seems like a good place."

If only for the excitement it brought Asia, if nothing else.

* * *

"So that's how it is."

"So it would seem, Yuuji-san."

Asia agreed, even though she didn't understand it all.

Yuuji had discovered an arcade shooting game, and had made the mistake of attempting to actually reload the plastic gun, rather than shoot off screen like the game demanded.

One mistake.

There wouldn't be another, and until the day the arcade closed down in the distant future, the high-score of the mysterious 'RUTH' would never be beaten.

* * *

"... Wow, that looks like fun!"

"That so?"

"Yep!"

Asia chirped, before the implications of the sight before her left her wide-eyed and speechless.

DDR had two sets of pads, and this one had something called 'Couples Mode', meaning she could dance with…

Asia snapped out of her dreamy haze to find a pair of dark eyes, inches from her own.

Yuuji blinked once, but gave no other indication of surprise when Asia jumped with a tiny, adorable little shriek.

"... Need to sit down?"

"N-no… I was just wondering if… w-well…"

Yuuji cut her off, having guessed her intentions from the minute or two of dazed, wonder-filled staring.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you wanted to try out that 'DDR' thing with me?"

Asia blinked slowly, staring at him in confusion before her smile bloomed, like the sun from behind the clouds.

"Y-yes! I definitely would!"

"Well alright then."

… Partway through the song, Yuuji realized that Asia was eyeing him, or rather, his hand.

Waiting until a note brought them to the pads closest to each other, Yuuji's hand darted out, linking with Asia's.

The surprised girl stumbled, and would have missed the note if Yuuji hadn't stepped on it for her.

Her shrieks of surprise turned into a fit of giggles as Yuuji spun them around, briefly switching positions with the laughing blonde.

Of course, there was no way they could hit every note with a surprise move like that, and in the end, it probably cost them their place on the leaderboard, even with Yuuji's absurd reaction times.

Neither of them could bring themselves to care.

* * *

As she stepped out of the portal, Koneko was greeted by the familiar sight of Grayfia in her maid uniform, standing dutifully off to one side.

"Welcome home, Koneko-san."

"Good to see you, Grayfia-san."

A pair of barely perceptible smiles were exchanged, neither of them the type for any pronounced display of emotion.

Koneko slowly let her gaze drift around the mostly empty entry room, a bit surprised to find-

"Ah, if you are looking for Kuroka-san…"

Koneko blinked in confusion as Grayfia took a rather large step to the side, wearing just the barest shadow of a smirk, and leaving the hallway of the Gremory manor clear and open.

Koneko had time for one word before it happened.

"Traitor."

"SHHHIIRONEEEEEEEE!"

A black, tailed blur came charging round the bend and launched itself like an arrow fired from the heavens.

Koneko found herself suddenly airborne with a pair of hands tucked firmly under her armpits and the room spinning around her like mad.

"SHHHIIRONEEEEEEEE!"

Then the hurricane of momentum that had seized her abruptly reversed its flow, and Koneko found herself tossed high into the air, only to find herself caught with a soft cheek rubbing against her own, before she was once again airborne.

"SHHHIIRONEEEEEEEE!"

This continued.

So caught up was she in the bewildering onslaught of affection, Koneko completely missed the fantastically rare sight of Grayfia Lucifuge trying her hardest not to laugh.

"SHHHIIRONEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

Hours later, Yuuji and Asia left the arcade arm in arm.

"Hehe, that was a lot of fun! W-wait… Yuuji-san are you okay!? S-something about you looks kind of strange!"

Curious, Yuuji turned back to examine himself in the glass, and let out a snort at what he saw.

"I'm just smiling, Asia."

A small smile, the pretty blonde was so shocked, she might have fallen over had she not been linked with him arm-in-arm.

"YUUJI-SAN CAN SMILE!?"

Yuuji remained silent, conceding that her confusion wasn't all that strange… until he noticed the mischievous twinkle in Asia's eyes.

"... Did I just get teased by Asia? Must be a cold day in Hell… we'll have to ask Buchou if the seasons are different down there."

Asia's mouth dropped open.

"Y-Yuuji-san, I'm not _that_ bad!"

"You kind of are though… and turn around is fair play."

"Ah, you…."

Asia's retort was lost in a fit of giggles.

Curious, Yuuji looked over his shoulder to once more confirm his suspicions.

Just as he had suspected…

Seemed that smile of his had yet to leave.

* * *

"... I missed you too, Nee-sama.

"Ehehe, I might have gotten a little carried away, nyaa~."

"Maybe."

"I've left a suitable change of clothes in for you in Kuroka-san's guest room, Koneko-san. I will leave take my leave then."

A definitely not-smirking Grayfia reasserted her presence, offering a small bow before turning on her heel.

"Thanks a bunch, Grayfia-chan… Ah I'm so excited! My little Shirone came to visit her big sister!"

"Yeah… I'm happy too, Nee-sama."

It was a chance she'd nearly given up on, once.

She wouldn't waste it, and she definitely wouldn't worry her Nee-sama with-

As she did her best to smile for her Nee-sama, Koneko missed entirely the slight narrowing of the eyes, the only hint she'd get that said Nee-sama had seen right through her.

* * *

"This doesn't make sense."

"Do you… not want one?"

"Taking probability into account, I have confidence I could lead you to any and all of these stands in Kuoh… except this one, apparently."

"Does… does Yuuji-san not like crepes?"

A weary sigh.

"... If we're going to do this, we might as well go all the way."

"G-g-g-g-go all the way!? Isn't t-t-t-that!?"

"Yeah, so do you mind picking for me, Asia?"

"... Huh?"

"It's tradition."

"... Is there things even Yuuji-san is indecisive about?"

That sounded strangely like an accusation, but this was Asia so he must be imagining it.

"... Yes. That's definitely it."

"Okay then ... that one for him, please!"

"... Huh, that actually looks pretty good. Thanks Asia."

Asia did not respond, as Asia had been handed her crepe first.

At that point, Yuuji had decided to accept his fate.

Next time, maybe he'd take his date to a crepe stand _on purpose_.

* * *

After a 'quick visit' with Venelana Gremory, the only Gremory currently home, the two Nekoshou had slipped into the guest room that had become Kuroka's residence at the Gremory estate.

After the hour or two of spoiling that the Gremory matriarch subjected them too, of course.

It was a small, modest and lightly furnished room, by Gremory standards.

Thus, by any _reasonable_ standards it was none of those things, and thus was the most comfortable and luxurious room Kuroka had ever been able to stay in.

Even when you took into account the occasions when she'd resorted to less than legal means.

She'd actually had to politely turn down a few housewarming gifts ( a once unthinkable idea), since she was fond of the rather spacious room having actual floor space.

That, and she still wasn't quite sure how to handle the presence of people who's free time seemed to be consumed by doting on others.

The two sisters had done nothing but talk for hours and hours, Kuroka apparently not having lost the skill required to keep the reticent Koneko engaged.

Then, without any warning, she had stood up from the bed and turned to face Koneko.

"So, Shirone."

"Care to tell your Nee-sama what's bothering you?"

Koneko froze for a moment and then began to shuffle her feet awkwardly, gaze drifting down to the floor.

Any thoughts of evading the topic were swept away by a pair of crossed arms and an artfully raised eyebrow.

* * *

They'd had dinner at a quiet, out of the way little restaurant, and she was pretty sure the food and the decorations had been wonderful.

Fairly certain, but neither of those things had been the much more interesting Yuuji, and his blank gaze that somehow managed to seem both warm and attentive, so 'fairly certain' was the best she could manage.

That, and Yuuji was currently leading her by the hand up a small game trail at a steady incline, only their vision as Devil's allowing them to pick their way through the fading light and shaded trees.

She wasn't actually sure how far they were from town, as Yuuji had teleported them into the parking lot of wherever they were.

Then they broke onto level ground, just in time to find themselves on a high plateau.

Just in time to take a seat on the blanket that had apparently been prepared, and watch the last rays of the sun slip away.

Kuoh was not a large city, in the grand scheme of things, and thus from this distance was nothing more than a sprinkling of lights in the distance.

It had been a wonderful day… so she couldn't really be blamed if its end made her feel just a little sad?

After all, Asia didn't like to think that she was a selfish girl at heart, but…

She'd really enjoyed having Yuuji look at her, and only her, even if it was only for one day.

Wrapped up in her guilty train of thought, Asia didn't immediately realize, that despite the sun having dipped below the horizon, it was still kind of bright.

A different kind of brightness, a faint, silvery glow.

"Asia."

"Y-yes?"

"You're looking the wrong way."

"W-what do you…?"

By way of answer, Yuuji laid back on the blanket, linking his hands behind the back of his head and staring up at the sky.

A bit puzzled, Asia mirrored the action, leaning back and…

For the first time, looking up.

A sharp inhale as bright green eyes snapped open wide.

Greeting her gaze was an ocean of stars, as far as the eye could see.

"Ah…"

"Sorry, they might not be the stars you're used to."

The stars she was used to?

… Oh.

It hadn't been that long, had it?

That long since she was expelled from the only home she'd ever known, banished and cast aside.

Raynare, or maybe Kalawarner, must have told him, she decided.

That once upon a time, gazing at the stars on a night like this had been the only thing she could look forward to, the only thing that she could do as Asia Argento, and not the 'Holy Maiden'.

Once, she'd gazed upon the stars and imagined them angels watching over her, and pretended that maybe she wasn't all alone.

That maybe God watching over her would be enough to keep the loneliness at bay.

… You couldn't really see the stars, in a city like Kuoh, and so she'd almost forgotten.

So Yuuji had taken it upon himself to offer her a familiar comfort, with one small difference that meant the world to her.

For the first time, when Asia Argento gazed up at the silvery heavens…

For the first time…

She didn't have to do so alone.

* * *

Well, she was being awfully quiet, and the tears did make him feel a bit guilty, but that smile was hard to misunderstand, even for him.

Honestly, Yuuji didn't like star-gazing very much.

Despite his job, Yuuji didn't even like night-time all that much.

To him, the night sky was vast and far, far too empty.

That emptiness reminded him of himself.

All of that certainly used to be true, but…

Her smile was truly beautiful, and those emerald eyes were putting every star in the sky to shame.

If something as simple star-gazing could bring forth such a wondrous expression from Asia, then…

Yuuji decided he just might like it after all.

A faint rustle of cloth caught his attention, and Yuuji turned his head to find those lovely emerald eyes staring deeply into his own, accompanied by darkened cheeks.

"Y-Yuuji-san…"

Yuuji remained silent, content to let her speak at her own pace.

"I-I don't think I'm r-ready to… to…"

"I don't mind."

"... Are you s-sure… I don't want to…"

"Take your time, Asia. Might be hard to tell, but right now I'm so happy I honestly don't know what to think."

Yuuji said, without the slightest change in his usual monotone.

The important part, the sincerity, must have gotten through, though, because the flush of Asia's cheeks spread across the entirety of her delicate, pale face.

Politely, Yuuji waited for the noises that were coming out of Asia's mouth to resemble words once more.

"W-well… when I s-say I'm n-not ready, I d-don't mean that _all_ of me isn't r-ready, so I think we could, you know…"

Yuuji decided to help her out a bit, and rolled onto his side to face her, bringing his head closer.

"Asia, I'd like to kiss you now, if you don't mind."

"... Please."

Her timid whisper was accompanied by a closing of the eyes and a pair of soft lips presenting themselves in an enticing manner.

Yuuji gently lifted one hand to Asia's cheeks and leaned in.

It was perhaps a gentler kiss than he was used to sharing, but…

There, in the light of thousands of twinkling stars...

In that moment, neither of them could call it anything less than perfect.

* * *

With the unfaltering patience of any good big sister, Kuroka watched the reflection of her darling little Shirone fidget on the bathroom stool, waiting calmly as the tiny girl worked up the courage to speak.

Evidently, Shirone had decided on a 'show', rather than 'tell' approach, as she lifted her hand and gently ran it through her snowy white hair.

A faint whisper of power as Shirone invoked a minor spell of removal.

"Oh, so that's what it was."

Mixed in with Shirone's lovely white hair were a few strands of raven black.

"... You were expecting this, Nee-sama?"

That mixture of fear and hope in her Shirone's eyes kind of hurt to see, but this time, Kuroka was well-prepared.

Gently, she reached up to her own hair and undid her braids, allowing her own hair to fall loose, flowing both down her back, and one shoulder.

She was a little surprised that Shirone had been using dye, but it seemed likely that she just hadn't had any reason to learn minor concealment spells, and hadn't known how to ask without drawing suspicion.

Well, no matter, she would just have to teach Shirone the one _she_ had been using.

* * *

A gentle knock on the bedroom door.

Kalawarner untangled herself from the bed and padded softly across the room on bare feet, rolling her eyes fondly as the sleeping Raynare protested the missing warmth.

"Sleeping?"

Yuuji whispered without any sort of preamble, a smiling and lightly snoring Asia nestled into his arms.

Kalawarner shook her head with a smile.

"We'd only just returned an hour or so earlier, Raynare was rather tired though, and dozed off."

"I see."

One eyebrow raised in question, Yuuji lifted Asia slightly, offering the sleeping girl to Kalawarner.

This time, the shake of Kalawarner's head was accompanied by a faint, lyrical giggle.

"No, Yuuji-sama, I do believe Asia-chan would be rather pleased to have you tuck her in tonight."

Yuuji remained silent for a moment, pondering, before nodding and stepping into the room as Kalawarner stepped aside.

Careful not to disturb the sleeping Raynare, Yuuji gently laid Asia onto the bed at the Fallen's side, reaching down to pull the blanket over the sleeping girls as they wormed their way closer together.

Yuuji had just straightened up and turned to leave when a small hand gripped his pant leg.

A turn of the head revealed that a sleeping Asia had reached out with an oddly concerned expression, as if afraid he'd disappear.

Gently, Yuuji removed her grip, taking her hand in his own as he leaned over her.

"Don't worry… I'll still be here when you wake up."

As he murmured in her ear, Yuuji planted a soft kiss on the pretty blonde's cheek.

This seemed to do the trick, as Asia's worried frown slowly shifted into a contented smile, and when her grip loosened, the freed hand immediately made its way up to caress her kissed cheek.

Meeting Kalawarner's approving smile with a small nod, Yuuji silently left the room and shut the door.

* * *

Koneko couldn't quite comprehend it at first.

Her Nee-sama had begun to wind her hands through her long black hair, and as it did, Kuroka's hair had begun to change.

From root to tip, in widths about as wide as her thumb, midnight black gave way to the pale white of the moon on a cloudless night.

Kuroka had always loved to compare that particular shade of white to moonlight, and it was hard to forget when Koneko herself saw it in the mirror every morning.

Perhaps it was the surprise, but Koneko couldn't get over the nagging feeling that she was missing another obvious connection.

Easily able to pick up on her sister's confusion, Kuroka flicked a fluffy ear, and lifted her tails high enough to be seen in the mirror.

The same pattern was repeated in the fur of her ears and tails, just at a horizontal instead.

That was enough to make it click, Kuroka smiling as the dawn of realization hit.

Stripes.

Inverted from the normal white on black, she supposed, but there was only one feline with colors like that in the natural world.

"... A… tiger? Nee-sama is a tiger?"

"Hmm, something like that, Shironyaa~"

Her Nee-sama leaned and slowly, carefully draped her arms around Koneko's shoulders, displaying a hesitance that suggested Kuroka was suddenly nervous about careless contact.

Golden eyes with slit pupils had sharpened further, a barely restrained wildness leaking out as striped tails thrashed about.

The thrashing stilled, and the harsh gold softened as Koneko slowly reached up to gently grip her sisters arm, a silent assurance that this sudden reveal couldn't come between them.

The two sisters smiled fondly at each other in the mirror, as they took simple comfort in finally being able to embrace without fear.

They remained like that in silence for some time before Kuroka spoke up once more.

"Say, Shironyaa… ever wondered what makes us Nekoshou so different from the other kit kats?"

* * *

Today was shaping up to be a good day.

He'd drifted off to sleep with Asia's smile burned into his mind's eye, and like the Holy Maiden she'd been in another life, that smile had kept the darkness at bay.

No Memoirs that involved him being blown up, unhorsed, impaled or even blown up (did he mention blown up? A common cause of death for Arsenal users apparently).

No blood, no violence, just a short, strangely vivid dream of thorny green leaves stretching up towards the heavens.

Not a clue what that was supposed to mean, sure, it had made him a little uneasy, but Asia.

Asia had finally brought out a thought that had been slowly forming in the back of his mind for a while.

He had people he cared about, sure, that was a given.

A little frightening at times, but kind of nice otherwise.

It was just that this morning was the first morning when he'd consciously thought that making the people he cared for smile…

Was the best kind of proof that the existence known as Kazami Yuuji might actually be something worthwhile.

What a strange thought.

Strange enough that he ignored the gigantic predator watching him with something akin to amusement.

He probably would have ignored it anyways, to be honest, because it seemed troublesome and his morning run was feeling especially pleasant.

So he passed the massive beast without so much as a glance.

It was probably looking at someone else.

Definitely.

"Hoh… can't say I'm used to being completely ignored by that. Is it bravery or ignorance?"

When the monster chuckled, Yuuji reluctantly conceded that he should probably pay attention to it.

"So, what does a Dragon want with me?"

Yuuji asked as he slowed to a halt.

The Dragon wearing human skin blinked once and chuckled again, a sound that grated on his nerves despite being outwardly pleasant.

"You could tell, could you? Interesting."

"Oh, so you are a Dragon."

Another blink.

"You guessed?"

"Only gigantic predator I could think of that wears human skin."

"... Not a bad start, I suppose."

The beast seemed to find that amusing for some reason, and Yuuji decided that anything it found amusing was unpleasant.

The Dragon was wearing the skin of a young man, perhaps similar in age, or slightly older than Yuuji, and was pretending to be shorter than him by a few inches.

Snow-white hair with a slight shine, dark leather, expertly tailored clothing that gave the impression of a male model dressed like a biker.

"... You're not even the slightest bit curious, are you?"

"Well, Albion or Tannin, what brings whoever you are to this neck of the woods?"

"... Why those two in particular?"

"Tiamat is a girl, and she's pretty sure Ddraig skipped this generation, but you aren't demonstrating any of the crazy associated with Vritra, nor the narcolepsy associated with Midgardsormr. From what I've read about him, if you were Yu-Long you would have pranked me at least twice by now."

"You list some of the most powerful Dragons in existence, and yet not a word about their power. Interesting. That, and you talk about Tiamat almost like you've met her."

The Dragon showed a little sort of half-smirk that was somehow familiar, and thus irritating.

"She's friends with my dog."

Yuuji clarified, in a tone that suggested that that was the Chaos Karma Dragon's most noteworthy trait.

The Dragon didn't quite seem to know how to respond to that, so he ignored it, and instead let a pair of white, armored wings flare to life, shimmering blue taking on a feathery appearance.

"So not Tannin."

"That's the most underwhelming reveal I've ever had in my life… I think I like you."

"Your mistake really."

Not-Tannin chuckled.

"Well, I already know your name is Kazami Yuuji, so I suppose I'll be polite and tell you mine."

"If you'd like, Vali."

The Dragon blinked.

"I don't think I've ever been bullied by someone weaker than me."

"I'm full of surprises that way."

Vali tilted his head, the languid curiosity of a well-fed predator before potential prey.

"What exactly was your plan if you managed to provoke me? You should know that you can't win."

"Just like you should know that win or not, it's really, really not worth the price."

Vali's smirk widened at the casual retort.

"Azazel was right… you are fun. Well, my curiosity is satisfied, and it's about to become crowded here, so I'll leave for now, I think. See you at the conference."

"Ciao."

As Vali disappeared in a flash of blue, Rias burst out of thin air in a burst of red, with the entire household armed and ready at her heels.

"Yuuji! Are you-!?... Huh?"

Not really sure how he was supposed to respond, Yuuji decided on basic etiquette.

"Good morning Rias, nice weather we're having, isn't it?"

He wasn't really sure why everyone was staring at him all of a sudden.

He wasn't really sure why he spent the entire school day supervised, or why Rias abandoned any attempts at subtlety after school and spent the rest of the evening glued to him out of some mysterious sort of concern.

Yuuji decided to reassure her that he wasn't going to disappear or something (not that he knew why she was worried) by robbing her of the ability to think about anything but him.

After all, they were going to sleep naked anyways, so in the end they were just saving time.

* * *

"T-This is really important… r-right?"

"Yeah, this will make life easier for Ray and Kala."

"T-that does sound n-nice."

"Don't worry about not being able to attend though, you lucked out big. Just because it's a good thing doesn't make it any less boring… Buchou, permission to stay with Gasper?"

"Denied. Gasper is a special case since he hasn't quite gotten his Sacred Gear under control, but you don't have an excuse."

Gasper reached out one small hand to pat Yuuji's shoulder in sympathy.

* * *

Yuuji was actually kind of impressed, to be honest.

He wasn't actually aware that Sirzechs, Levia-tan, or the old man could be serious about, well anything really.

But the conference seemed to be going smoothly enough.

He'd been wondering if he'd be able to see the other two Satans, this time, but the decision to exclude them did make sense.

Lucifer was the overall leader of the Underworld, and Leviathan was Foreign Affairs, so having those two attend made the most sense.

Grayfia was present as well, though she was both serving refreshments, and doubling as the Satan's bodyguard.

Maids were amazing creatures, weren't they?

Azazel had merely brought the Dragon (Valley?) as a bodyguard, and was handling the discussion alone.

Rounding out the conference were the representatives of Heaven, the Head Archangel Michael, and the Archangel Gabriel.

Yuuji had taken one glance at them and decided that Angels were weird.

Michael was doing most of the talking, and every word out of his mouth was essentially free therapy, his voice was _that_ soothing, and Yuuji wasn't honestly sure the Seraph was capable of anything less than perfect politeness.

Yuuji also found it kind of funny that apparently while the male faction leaders were lowkey drinking buddies, Levia-tan (Yuuji still couldn't remember her other, less important name) and Gabriel were apparently bitter rivals.

The best part being that the one this was least apparent to was Gabriel.

Escorting them, was the twin-tailed noisy girl, the Exorcist who'd originally been paired with Xenovia.

Irina, right?

Probably.

The glances Irina kept shooting Xenovia couldn't seem to decide if they were angry or relieved to see Xenovia, and Xenovia's expression seemed torn between relief and guilt.

Come to think of it, they... they probably hadn't talked since Xenovia's excommunication.

Well, Asia had noticed her friends distress, so he'd leave the empathy to the expert.

* * *

The vast majority of the discussion had gone through one ear and out the other, as most of it seemed like it was above Yuuji's paygrade.

Also because he didn't care, but the first option would be his official stance if questioned.

Then Sirzechs said something about 'Kokabiel', and Yuuji decided to tune in, if only for the fact that Rias, Akeno and Sona had all stepped forward to give their reports.

Yuuji watched with narrowed eyes.

Rias and Akeno were stressed, to say the least.

While the contribution of Sona and her peerage couldn't be discounted, they at least had the fortune of not being directly in the line of fire.

Akeno had been arguably the worst injured, considering Kokabiel had snapped her spine.

Rias had been faced with the very real possibility of the people under her care dying.

"Needless to say, Kokabiel wasn't acting on anyone's orders. It's not as if there was some big incident that set this off. He simply went off the grid during a quiet patch, and by the time we'd tracked him down he and his forces were circling Kuoh's skies. Honestly, Lucifuge probably did us a favor by putting him down like a rabid dog."

Azazel, as he apparently was fond of doing, stilled the room with a single casual remark.

Oh, Rias seemed angry about something… maybe he hadn't been paying enough attention.

"Well, Miss Gremory, how can we, the Grigori make this up to you? You're the injured party after all."

Rias met his questioning stare with a cool, dignified gaze, head held high.

"There have been a pair of Fallen in my care for some time now. They will remain so as long as they wish, though I'll accept a pardon so that they may once more move about freely."

That glimmer in Akeno's eyes suggested that he wasn't the only one kind of turned on right now.

Yeah, he'd really lucked out when it came to bosses.

Raynare and Kalawarner, for their part, were more or less frozen in place, and Raynare trying to look as small as possible as all eyes fell on them.

Coincidentally, the reason Yuuji hadn't really seen either of them for a while was because they'd been surreptitiously using him as cover the whole time.

He'd need to work on growing taller though, since he and Kala were eye to eye when she wore heels.

If he was going to serve as cover, he damn well intended to be good at it.

* * *

Kalawarner took a deep breath and stepped forward with her shoulders squared as the room fell silent.

Behind her, Raynare trembled once before stepping forward as well, grudgingly releasing Asia's hand as she did.

She was, in a word, terrified.

Had she gotten her way, neither she nor Kala would ever be within speaking distance of Azazel.

Call it what you will, but in the end, they'd gone against his orders, gone against the will of the Grigori.

Deceived they may have been, but a traitor was a traitor.

That gnawing sliver of fear vanished as she stepped past Yuuji.

The same placid stare, contrasted by sharp eyes, that he always wore.

Yet, Kalawarner had stood a little taller as she passed.

When Yuuji's eyes fell on her, she felt it too.

No matter how she tried to hide, he would see right through her.

Just as he had since the very day they'd met.

No matter what happened, though, Kazami Yuuji would not look away.

Honestly, she wouldn't even be surprised if by now, Yuuji had actually forgotten how they'd met.

No, that wasn't quite right, she supposed.

He remembered.

He just didn't care.

Kazami Yuuji, no matter what happened, would not look away.

No matter what happened, he would be right where they needed him to be.

Ah… she was definitely in love, wasn't she?

* * *

"Honestly, I didn't even know you girls were in the field. Frankly, monitoring every Fallen Angel under my leadership is impossible. The orders given to you by Kokabiel weren't that far-fetched, though, were they? 'Eliminate potential threats' is only a step or two from 'observe potential threats', isn't it?"

Azazel said.

"And it's completely true that some Sacred Gears are too dangerous to leave unsupervised, which was why I had teams out in the first place. Really though, I wouldn't be sending anyone with so little field experience to observe anything as volatile as the Arsenal Memoir. The most logical conclusion I can draw is that Kokabiel wanted you to fail."

Raynare gave an almost minute flinch, but the way she stood her ground regardless brought the ghost of a smile to Yuuji's lips.

"Might have just been looking to cycle through the ranks, tie up loose ends, who knows? You girls were really lucky to walk away after the Soldier got you in his sights."

"You're wrong, Azazel."

Azazel wasn't the only one to blink in shock as Kalawarner interrupted, though he recovered almost immediately to lean forward with a curious smirk.

"Oh?"

"Meeting the bearers of the Arsenal Memoir and Twilight Healing respectively…"

She turned her head slightly, smiling encouragingly as Raynare took over.

"That made everything we'd gone through seem worth it."

Raynare stated with a bright smile.

"That so? Well… what am I to say to that? If it was enough to make the two of you happy, I was willing to chop off a wing or two of mine at the very least. But… you've already found what you wanted, haven't you?"

The two Fallen seemed taken aback at the offer of casual self-mutilation, but as Azazel's words trailed off, they instead answered their former leader with proud smiles on their lovely faces.

""We have.""

"Then it goes without saying that you'll be pardoned without question. Clean slate and all that, though…"

Raynare and Kalawarner looked just a little nervous as Azazel scratched his chin, looking off into the distance with a mischievous little grin.

Several people in the room had to do a double take as Michael himself gave a good-natured roll of the eyes.

"Kuoh is becoming more and more of a hot-spot for strange happenings, so I was thinking it might be nice to have a few Grigori stationed there officially as a gesture of goodwill."

Catching the hint almost immediately, both Raynare and Kalawarner turned their heads, seeking approval.

Yuuji promptly redirected those questioning gazes from himself to Rias, who froze for just an instant as every eye in the room suddenly fell on her.

"Well, I believe I made it clear that I wasn't intending to return them, so I suppose there's nothing to do but acquiesce."

""Then we'll accept as well.""

Raynare and Kalawarner said, turning back to the smirking Azazel.

"Well, I say that, but it might cause trouble if we're not officially at peace, so what say we get that part out of the way?"

Azazel declared with a cavalier grin.

"Yes, I think it's time to get that out of the way."

"Indeed, the paperwork isn't going to file itself."

Sirzechs and Michael respectively commented.

… Was the world going to be okay?

"It is true, we can no longer move forward if nothing changes. God is dead, the original Satans are dead, and if we remain as we are, soon we, and the world under our care will fade away as well."

Michael calmly stated, rising from his seat.

The other leaders followed suit.

"Even without God, we have to move forward. No, even without Him, we _will_ move forward. The world keeps spinning even without God, and it's high time we did our best to keep it that way."

Azazel, without a hint of his usual whimsy.

"Thus, this shall mark the day when we of the three Biblical Factions unite to stand as one, come whatever may. Today, we put aside the grudges of the past and face the future, side by side."

Sirzechs proclaimed with a sweep of his arm.

There, in that very moment, history was made.

It was perhaps a bit ironic that that very moment is when things started to go very, very wrong.

* * *

 **Almost thought we weren't going to get to the peace conference this chapter, the way all the fluff was going. If it seemed a bit brief, that's because several issues that were intended to be addressed have been put on hold due to Bad Things Happening.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed Asia's date, originally there was going to be fireworks, but somehow it ended up slightly imitating the first date with Senjougahara and Araragi from Bakemonogatari. Fitting, since, like Senjougahara, from the very start there was no chance in hell that Asia was going to be comfortable losing her V-card on the first date.**

 **Those references just keep happening for some reason, Asia imitated one of Nadeko's catchphrases last chapter, and the mysterious mystery involving the Neko siblings ended up taking visual inspiration from another character from the series.**

 **Speaking of kitties, some of you might be able to guess at the significance of the hairstyle change, but there's a reason it's being kept under wraps for now.**

 **Nekoshou means 'Cat Award' according to Google, so I'm kind of wondering if the author just wanted to hammer in the reality of who the best kitties were.**

 **We introduced Valley this chapter as well, but Yuuji doesn't care enough to remember his name properly yet, and probably hasn't even considered that the White Dragon might be partially human rather than just faking it.**


	18. Lowliest of Thorns

**This chapter is coming out sooner than expected and later than I'd hoped.**

* * *

It was as if she had blinked one too many times, and in one of those fractions of a second when her eyes were closed, someone had stolen color from the world.

The world that laid before Himejima Akeno was a mix of grey and dull, off-white…

Even that lovely crimson hair, flowing down the back of her best friend and King, had suffered the same fate.

It took another second for Akeno to realize that Rias wasn't moving, not even breathing, almost as if she was…

"F _r_ o **ze** n?"

Curious voices grated out from beside her.

Akeno jumped a little at the sudden hiss, but wasn't able to go far as her head snapped to her right.

What stared back at her was a piece of weathered, featureless iron, twin empty, dark chasms where eyes should be.

 _No!_

… _Those eyes weren't supposed to be empty like that…_

 _Not when they were looking at her!_

The metallic figure tilted its head to one side, seemingly just as startled to hear _itself_ speak.

The dark hair that framed it was the only hint that a person might lie beneath, as everything below the mask was wreathed in that same battered iron.

It didn't seem right to call it armor.

Something about it seemed too restrictive for that.

As if it was meant not to protect the body beneath, but keep it _confined_.

Unsettling as it was, none of that seemed all that important to Akeno, at the moment.

That Kiba and Xenovia, standing to the other side, had not only retained their color but were watching the armored figure warily with blades at the ready, was noticed, but pushed aside.

That Rias, Koneko, Raynare, Kalawarner, Sona and Tsubaki, as well as Irina on the far side of the room, were all stiff, colorless, and motionless, was also filed away for later consideration.

No, right now that didn't matter at all.

Not before the revelation that the iron thing before her was _holding her hand_.

As if to cut off her panic before it could begin, the multitude behind the mask hissed out two more words to freeze her in place.

"K **az** am _i_ Y **uu** _j_ i."

"K-Kazami… Yuuji!? Yuuji where are you!?"

As if she could forget!

Where was he, where was-

 _Who was Yuuji?_

"I **t** 's _hi_ **s** h **a** nd y **ou** 'r _e_ h _ol_ di **n** g."

"You say that is if it isn't yours."

A mild drawl drifted across the grey stillness of the room, and the attention of both was drawn to Azazel, full of color and curiosity.

Beside him, Sirzechs, along with Grayfia, and the other faction leaders present stood in observation, unaffected by the strange stillness.

The armored thing, the Unknown Soldier, she dimly recalled, shook its head once, before tapping an armored finger against its temple.

This was her first time really meeting it… now she understood why Rias always struggled to talk about it.

" **Th** _e_ b **o** y sl **e** _e_ p **s**."

… It hurt her head to hear it speak.

It was like a dozen people hissing their words all at once, each with their own pitch, speed, and volume.

"Care to explain that, Soldier-kun?"

Serafall asked, with an innocent smile serious, unwavering eyes.

In spite of herself, Akeno had to try not to giggle as a tired sigh slipped out from the Soldier.

… The creaking that echoed out in accompaniment called to mind the popping joints of some tired old man.

" _W_ e **ma** nif _e_ sted **t** o k **e** ep h _im_ a **wa** _k_ e, b _u_ t **h** e i _s_... **m** o _r_ e co _n_ ce **rn** e _d_ f **o** r oth _e_ r **s** t _ha_ n h **e** is h **im** s _e_ l _f_. **T** h _a_ t co **n** fli _ct_ **of** i **n** te _res_ ts **ca** us _e_ d so **m** e **o** n _e_ e **ls** e to re **m** a _i_ n a **w** a _ke_ i **n** **h** is st _e_ a **d**."

To emphasize the point, it lifted its left hand… the hand still wrapped around her own.

That... didn't bother her as much as it did a moment ago.

Despite that gnawing sense of loss, that struggle to recall any details of who Yuuji was…

Knowing he was so focused on protecting _her_ made her feel all warm and safe.

Like a nursery rhyme sung to her as a child.

The words faded from memory, but dim, fond echoes of the melody drifting through her mind.

"Ah, how dependable of him."

Sirzechs' mysterious smile carried with it a faint sense of approval, putting those gathered at ease.

"Hmm, the Sacred Gear activating to protect the host. Just like Vali here."

Azazel jerked a thumb over his shoulder, where the White Dragon Emperor leaned smirking against the walls.

Unfurled behind him were a pair of metallic white wings with large feathers comprised of glowing blue light.

"Probably the irregularity of your Balance Breaker did it for the Gremory Knight there-"

Azazel gestured towards Kiba, who was holding the beautifully twisted form of Rakshasa Divine at his side.

"And your Holy Sword, I take it? How'd you even get that out?"

Xenovia, with Durandal leaning over her shoulder, shrugged.

"Had a strange feeling."

As if it explained everything.

"Now, I'm guessing…"

"Gasper!"

Someone exclaimed.

Every unfrozen eye in the room locked onto her, cluing Akeno into the fact that yes, she had been the one to speak.

"Go on, Akeno."

Sirzechs prompted.

"When Gasper-kun described the world he saw, under the effect by Forbidden Balor View, he would always describe it as 'colorless'."

She elaborated.

"But… he shouldn't be able to stop time in an area this large… he should be all the way back at the old school building!"

Akeno fretted, turning her head back towards the direction her junior should be in.

The discussion came to an abrupt halt as the building shook.

"Oh... it's a terrorist attack."

Gabriel's dispirited, yet still musical voice informed, frowning softly as she did.

Akeno could have sworn she heard the world mourning alongside the lovely Seraph.

"I would love to say this came as a total shock but…"

A bitter laugh from Azazel.

"Always someone who can't stand the idea of 'peace', huh?"

The leader of the Grigori's habitual smirk was absent, a tired, wistful smile taking its place instead.

Flashes of light from the windows as the building shook.

"Magicians, huh? Given their numbers, I guess the Khaos Brigade is on the move."

Just like that, Azazel's carefree curiosity had returned.

"You're the expert here, Azazel. Could someone have amplified young Gasper's powers in order to cause this?"

Sirzechs inquired.

"Wouldn't be all that hard. There's plenty of ways to force a temporary Balance Breaker if you're willing to put in the effort. Kid must have a hell of a lot of latent potential to be lock down this big of an area, though."

The scent of ozone filled the air, and the Soldier's (still) held hand creaked ominously under Akeno's white knuckled grip.

"Ara ara, they're using Gasper-kun as a weapon? That's some nerve."

Now she too was smiling, and it was anything but friendly.

"There is little danger to those here, with the barrier created by the five of us, but… we cannot leave without exposing the young ones here, and dropping the barrier around the field could cause untold collateral damage… but they are killing our people outside."

Sirzechs stared grimly out the window as he spoke.

"Yep, and if they can juice up the Dhampir anymore we might end up just as helpless."

Azazel informed carelessly.

"Then we need to get to Gasper-kun…"

Akeno bit her thumb, frowning as she tried to think of a way to get through to them.

The magical assault on the barrier was so thick she could hardly _see_ out the window… if she, Kiva, Xenovia, or the… Soldier, went out there, they'd be ash before they could even get both feet out the door.

The Soldier squatted down then with a low creak, and began tapping one finger on the floor… in the shadow it was casting.

Everyone stopped for a moment, puzzled by the odd sight.

Despite the ghastly countenance of the Unknown Soldier, the fact that it was _still_ holding hands with Akeno gave its actions a surreal, almost childish appearance.

Seconds later, the purpose behind its odd actions revealed itself, as the shadow rippled like water, and a shaggy, black furred muzzle emerged with a yawn.

"Ruth!"

Akeno gasped.

{"Hmm… done already? That was fast-"}

Blood-red eyes fell upon the Soldier and narrowed.

{"Oi… you're not him… why the hell are you in control?"}

The Soldier lifted one hand in a placating gesture.

" **Ea** sy n _o_ w, G _ri_ **m** … **w** e m **a** d _e_ a _m_ is **tak** _e_ i **n** tr **yi** n _g_ t _o_ pr **ot** e _ct_ o **u** r _h_ o **s** t… a _n_ d k **ep** t **t** h **e** Q _u_ e _en_ _aw_ a **k** e inst **e** a _d_."

{"... Alright then… behave, and we won't have a problem… for now."}

" _W_ e sh **al** l **li** m _i_ t **o** u _r_ se **lv** e _s_ t **o** o _b_ e _y_ i **ng** th **e** Q **u** ee _n's_ **o** r **d** e _rs_ … thi _s_ **is** a b **i** t un **co** mf _or_ ta **b** le f _o_ r **u** s, **as** w _e_ ll, w **e** m _us_ t c **on** fe **s** _s_."

"Hoho… so the Church Grim avoided Balor's Eye, even in his sleep, by being 'out of reach', I take it?"

Azazel's keen-eyed gaze stared down at Ruth, as the Soldier rose to its feet, the dog removed himself fully from its shadow.

{"Something like that. Gasper must be a bit too young to- hang on, what did you just say about Gasper?"}

"Then… can you reach him, Ruth!?"

Akeno blurted out, hope and desperation warring on her lovely visage as she leaned forward, unwittingly releasing the Soldier's hand at last.

Missing how the Soldier stared quizzically down at its now empty hand, flexing it open and shut in a faintly forlorn manner.

{"So they do have Gasper?}

A low snarl drifted out with Ruth's dry mental voice.

{"Dammit… yeah, I can get to him… and before you ask, yes, I can bring you with, and no, I can't handle all of you. Two at best, otherwise I risk misplacing someone in the shadows… probably forever."}

Akeno straightened up immediately, long ponytail whipping as she whirled towards the watching Sirzechs.

"Lucifer-sama."

Grayfia was the first one to speak up, however, and Akeno felt her heart soar, knowing what the woman she looked up to would say even before another word was spoken.

She was grinning when Lucifer nodded towards his Queen immediately.

"Yes, I'll have you head out there, Grayfia. Akeno?"

"Yes, Lucifer-sama?"

"Since Rias is out of action, command of the peerage naturally falls to you as her Queen. Grayfia will draw the attention of those outside, and I'll have you lead a rescue for young Gasper."

Lucifer ordered.

"Decide who is going, and the other two will support Grayfia, as much as they can without drawing too much attention upon themselves."

"As you wish, Lucifer-sama…"

Akeno turned to her comrades, tapping a finger against her chin, more out of reluctance than indecision.

There was only one choice she could make, after all.

"... Yuuto-kun, Xenovia-chan, I'll ask you to support Grayfia-san. Xenovia-chan will focus on larger clusters with Durandal, Yuuto-kun, I want you to take the lead, and focus on picking off any particularly troublesome intruders."

"Roger."

"Understood."

"You know the grounds better than they do. Be careful, and try your best to stay out of the open."

They nodded once as Akeno put her hands on their shoulders, giving them a small squeeze to convey her worries.

"Yeah, we'll be careful, Akeno-san. You be careful too, alright?"

Kiba responded, reaching up to give her hand a small squeeze in return.

Satisfied, Akeno broke away, turning her gaze upon the armored figure standing patiently at the ready.

"You said... Yuuji-kun isn't in there, right now… but can I count on you to act in his place?"

A firm, creaking nod.

" **I** _f_ w _e_ **m** ust a **c** t in **hi** s ste _a_ d, we **wi** ll pro _te_ ct **t** h _at_ w _hi_ c **h** h _e_ wi **sh** es t _o_ pr **ot** e _c_ t. **W** e ar _e_ yo **u** rs t _o_ c _om_ m **a** nd, Qu **e** e _n_ of G _r_ **e** m **or** y… a **ft** e _r_ al _l_ , w **e** a **r** e q _u_ i **te** fo _n_ d **o** f t **h** _e_ **Dh** a _m_ p **i** r c _hi_ l **d as** w _e_ ll."

"Thank you."

Next, she turned her head down to Ruth.

"Ruth, will you help us?"

{"Of course."}

She turned back to the waiting Sirzechs with a polite bow.

"We are prepared, Lucifer-sama."

"Excellent. Grayfia?"

Grayfia gripped the hem of her dress and curtseyed, before approaching the window with calm, measured steps.

Nothing more than a minute frown upon red lips, and cold, crimson eyes evoking images of bloodstained ice.

Ara, Grayfia-chan was angry, wasn't she?

… Akeno was feeling kind of turned on right now.

With a jerk of the head from Azazel, the Hakuryuuko pushed himself from the wall, handsome features contorted by an eager, bestial grin.

Before Grayfia or Vali could reach the window, it, along with every other window on campus, shattered violently.

Kuoh Academy trembled to its very roots, and Akeno, along with everyone else in the room, covered their ears as a garbled, inhuman scream tore through the air.

 _ **PAIN.**_

 _ **RESENTMENT.**_

 _ **FEAR.**_

 _ **HATE!**_

… Blinking rapidly, dazed, Akeno swept her gaze over her friends in shock, finding them unharmed, but just as dazed and bewildered.

Another scream echoed, not quite as deafening but just as hideous and saddening to hear.

A sorrowful sigh slipped from the lips of Heaven's only surviving Female Archangel.

"How sad… I'd hoped we'd put the last of those poor dears to rest."

Gabriel whispered, a hand on her heart.

"That hope has failed us before, dear Sister."

Michael responded mournfully.

"W-what the hell was that!?"

Kiba hissed, eyes wild and grip on Rakshas Divine crushingly tight.

"That, Kiba-chan… was Grendel."

Serafall's usual cheer was a distant memory.

"You spoke like there was more than one, before. Why the change?"

Xenovia's impassive tone stood in stock contrast to her pale features and wide eyes.

"We used to think there was, back when Beowulf killed the first, about a millennium and a half ago. Six more, virtually identical and calling themselves the same name have been killed since then, and they never seem to remember anything that happened to their predecessor. So we're not entirely sure if it's a single, reincarnating abomination, or if it's something more akin to a natural disaster."

Azazel explained.

"So 'Grendel' serves as both the name for the species, and the name of the individual, regardless of which is true."

Michael took over.

"What we do know is that the life of Grendel is constant agony, misery hanging off them like a black cloud. Whether it be a night of feasting or a historic peace conference, he seemingly sniffs out sufficiently large sources of _positive_ emotion, and does his absolute best to snuff them out."

As if to punctuate his point, half an Angel splattered against the barrier covering the window, blood and offal wicking away like water as the corpse slid out of sight.

"Oi, Lucifuge."

Vali, grinning wildly.

Grayfia merely turned with one perfect silver brow arched.

"That one's mine. Play with the small fry."

"... As you wish."

 **"[Balance Breaker]... Divine Dividing: Scale Mail!"**

In a brilliant flash, the White Dragon summoned his armor, engulfed himself in savage, snow white plate, splintering the wooden floor as he hurled himself out the open window in a single fluid pounce.

Seconds later, all Hell broke loose as the White Dragon Emperor began his rampage, carving his way towards Grendel and-

"SERAAAFAAAAAALLLL!"

"What now?"

Kiba's oddly resigned voice slipped out.

Expression as demure and impassive as ever, Grayfia loudly cracked her knuckles.

Everyone took a step back.

"That, Kiba, sounded like Katerea Leviathan."

Sirzechs offered carefully, a single wary eye trained on his Queen.

"Lucifer-sama."

Everyone took another step back as Grayfia's prim, polite voice echoed out with a stifling air of oppression.

"... Yes?"

"I'll ask to be excused from the conference, for now. Something urgent has been brought to my attention."

"... Well, don't let me keep you?"

"Thank you, Sirzechs-sama. Pardon me, then."

Without another word, Grayfia crossed the room towards the window, daintily hopping up onto the window sill with a tinkle of shattered glass, hands folded elegantly at the front of her dress.

"Oh, Grayfia?"

Sirzechs, with great reluctance, called out to her.

Grayfia turned and politely _smiled_.

Everyone held their breath.

"Yes, Lucifer-sama?"

"Ah… never mind, it's not important right now. Later."

"... As you wish, Lucifer-sama. I shall take my leave, then."

Without another word, Grayfia spread her wings and went airborne, vanishing from sight.

Azazel dropped a comforting hand on Sirzechs shoulder.

"Yeah, probably for the best you didn't ask her to talk things out with Katerea… there are children present."

* * *

Sparing not a single glance to the carnage brought by a battle-hungry dragon hurling itself at a twisted giant from grim mythology, Grayfia Lucifuge ascended smoothly into the air.

Thinking her distracted, several of the robed figures swarming about opened fire with arcane flames and bolts.

A dismissive wave of her hand, and the assault fizzled and died upon a wave of shimmering frost.

Her assailants fell seconds later, frozen, twisted statues with a roughly human shape shattering wetly upon the hard earth below.

Unconcerned by the casual act of carnage, Grayfia offered an elegant, midair curtsy.

"How do you do, Miss Katerea? Though I must beg your pardon for my presumptuousness… I must say, it is quite saddening to see you have yet to find yourself any _reliable_ comrades."

The only thing marring the beauty of the woman she rose to meet was a livid sneer twisting her tanned features.

Red-rimmed glasses, light brown hair tied into a high bun, tan skin wrapped a dress cut so low it exposed her navel, and slit at the leg so high as to bare the entirety of her wide hips.

Katerea Leviathan, one of the few _living_ descendants of that illustrious name.

"Don't speak to me of _reliable_ , you traitorous _whore_!"

Katerea spat in contempt.

Grayfia shook her head slowly, a vague disappointment tinging her otherwise impassive veneer.

"Ara, such a shame, that a lady feels the need to run her mouth like a common street tramp… Leviathan must be coiling circles in her grave."

A cold and cruel smile tugged at the edges of her red lips.

"Perhaps you'd like to verify in person? I shall happily lend my services as an escort… you cheap, _worthless_ relic."

Far below and completely unable to see her expression, nor hear Grayfia's voice, the current Lucifer and Leviathan felt a shiver up their spines.

Katerea ground her teeth in rage, before an abrupt change of demeanor swept a vicious smirk across her face.

"Mock all you want, _slave_. We'll see how talkative you're feeling when I've torn that-"

A pair of wine-red eyes, suddenly inches from her own, were the last thing Katerea saw before a dainty, pale fist caught her squarely between the eyes.

As if she was just as surprised as her opponent, Grayfia watched Katerea tumble through the air with one delicate hand covering her mouth.

… The same hand that had just smashed into the heir of Leviathan, if the traces of blood on her knuckles were anything to go by.

"Oh dear… it seemed as if a monologue was about to begin, and my body moved on its own. Ah… I hope Lucifer-sama didn't see that."

Lucifer-sama had in fact seen that… as had everyone else in the room with him.

It should come as no surprise that later, not a soul would be willing to comment.

"You bitch! You damn gorilla, pretending to be a maid!"

Grayfia carried on as if she hadn't heard.

"I hope that leg of yours isn't acting up. The replacement of yours is very convincing, but rumor has it that it always acts up when the _weather is cold._ "

Almost in spite of itself, one gloved hand darted down to an unmarred, tanned leg, as a flicker of fear passed across the heiresses lovely visage.

Then it was replaced by rage and spite once more.

"Shutupshutupshutup-"

"Oh yes, I forgot to ask. Would you like to surrender?"

Grayfia calmly interjected.

"Surrender!? Surrender!?"

Katerea shrieked in fury.

"As if! Don't screw with me, you treacherous little whore! Hell doesn't need you! We should have fought, we could have won if it weren't for faithless swine like you, turning on your masters! The Lucifuge name used to mean something, before you dragged it through the dirt!"

"What meaning does something as lowly as a name have for a dying race? Lineage? Glory? Worthless. Had you warmongers of the Old Satan Faction had your way, the only things left to stroke those bloated egos of yours would have been _corpses_."

Grayfia spat, eyes narrowed.

"You're wrong! We were strong enough, we have _always_ been the strongest faction! If it weren't for you cowards-"

"Shut your mouth. I don't care what your plans are, I don't care what your goals are. Katerea Leviathan, for standing against the will of Hell, I consign you to death."

Grayfia intoned, expressionless for one brief moment, before a suspiciously sunny smile bloomed across her face.

"Though, I hardly needed the _extra_ motivation."

* * *

… _There was bad magic in the air._

 _Malice and hate, coming from the direction of…_

 _Asia!?_

 _The connection was so faint!_

 _Nononono!_

 _She shouldn't have agreed to stay behind!_

 _What did the house matter when Asia wasn't here!?_

 _Hang on Asia, I'm coming!_

* * *

"... That's as good a distraction as we're going to get."

Sirzechs stated, as howling waves of frost warred against hissing, oily black flames in the sky above.

A twisted, gigantic form collapsed through the gymnasium as a white comet struck it across the face.

"Akeno, get going. Kiba, Xenovia… I'll ask you again to deal with those magicians, but stay away from Katerea and Grendel. Bright as your futures may be, I'm afraid you will be of little assistance there. Especially with Grendel. No blade, no matter how sharp, will aid you against him."

"No blade? What do you mean?"

Xenovia couldn't help but ask, even as she advanced towards the open window.

"Ah, it's what makes Grendel such a pain to deal with. They're basically immune to any sort of weapon or magic… nothing that isn't attached to the body seems to faze them. It's why Beowulf wrestled his, and the fangs and claws of Dragons accounted for at least half."

Azazel explained with a grimace.

"Isn't the Scale Mail a problem then?"

Kiba had to ask.

"Nah, armor type Sacred Gears like that are the best kind of loophole. Albion isn't _exactly_ dead, so it's kind of like he's doing the punching."

Xenovia interjected then, turning with confusion written across her features.

"But hang on… it sounded almost like the Seraphs have dealt with them personally before, and I don't think they'd really…"

Gabriel averted her gaze with a blush.

* * *

It reminded her of the ocean.

She'd never swam that deeply, herself, but Akeno imagined this was what the depths of the oceans looked like, far beyond the reach of a distant sun.

Though, when she imagined herself traversing the deep, she had never imagined her lifeline would be a pitchblack wolfhound, whose burning crimson eyes served as the only pinprick of light.

Or that the other person holding onto said hound would be her boyfriend, only he wasn't _exactly_ with her, as his body was currently being puppeted around by the spirits of the dead and a suit of battered iron that made her brain hurt.

… Today had been a strange day.

Occasionally, the darkness would be broken up by jagged panels, blurred surfaces like shards of smoky glass.

Through them she could see murky images, images that Ruth would ignore after little more than a passing glance.

She wanted to speak, but she was hesitant to open her mouth.

She wasn't having trouble breathing, but the feeling of being submerged was difficult to rid herself of.

Until a frustrated snarl slipped from the hounds jaws.

{"Damn, they really were prepared for this, weren't they?"}

He was staring at a glass portal, through which she could see a familiar, yellow-taped door.

Layered with countless swirling lights and symbols that, even if she could have seen clearly, would have taken her hours to decipher, let alone penetrate.

"W-what is this?"

Akeno breathed out, hesitance to speak vanishing before her confusion.

Her voice sounded muffled, distant as if she was muttering from the other side of some great chasm.

{"They've isolated the space. Gasper's room is its own little world right now, so I won't be able to move through its shadows unless I'm in the room. This is useless, this is-"}

Akeno and the Soldier averted their gazes with sharp hisses as blinding white leaked into the world of gloom.

The darkness below and to the right was slowly growing hairline fractures.

{"Yeah, this is gonna be good."}

The shadows muffled not only the shape of his body, but even the mental communications of the Black Grim.

It made his chuckles, and bared fangs, all the more sinister.

* * *

 _This wasn't the right barrier!_

 _Mages!?_

 _Why were there mages!?_

 _Asia, where are you!_

 _No good… all this thinking was making her hungry._

" _H-hey, did you hear that?"_

" _Hear what? We're in the bushes, it was probably just the sound of the wind."_

" _B-but it sounded kind of… wet?"_

…

 _Ah... that really hit the spot._

 _Hard to strategize on an empty stomach._

 _Hmm, now what to do, what to do?_

 _She could probably break through if she took the time to find a few more stray morsels, but…_

 _No, that wouldn't do._

 _Who knows how long that would take?_

 _Sweet Asia could be in danger._

 _No, she would have to do_ _ **that**_ _._

 _Barriers were always surface level… always covering the skies, but never beneath the earth._

 _After all, what self-respecting Devil or Angel, Fallen or otherwise, would lower themselves to crawl through the sewers?_

 _It's not like she wanted to either, but a little muck was worth it if she could get to Asia!_

 _It was still gross though!_

 _No one else had to_ _ **taste**_ _every tunnel they slid through!_

 _No, focus, focus._

 _In we go…_

 _Eh?_

 _What's this?_

 _Everything above ground felt so still and dead, and there was a separate barrier where…_

 _That's it!_

 _Those bitches had little Gasper hostage!_

 _The space was cut off, otherwise Ruth would have probably saved him by now!_

 _Oh, you worthless, rotting_ _ **whores**_ _._

 _Don't think you can keep me out._

 _I'm coming for you._

 _I hope you enjoy every second of your body melting within me._

 _I can already taste your magic, you trash._

 _You are far from the first mages to find their ends within me._

 _You won't be the last._

* * *

"T _h_ e fis **su** r _e_ _gr_ o **w** s? W **h** a _t_ i **s** _t_ h **is**?"

{"You'll find out soon enough, but no need to worry. If that light means what I think it means, it means that the isolated space is crumbling… and Gasper is probably safe by now."}

"What do you mean!? What's happening!?"

Akeno shouted out in frustration, unable to keep her worries contained.

The darkness offered little sense of time, but every imagined second stretched on into eternity.

{"Suu is happening."}

Akeno blinked in shock.

"... Suu?"

{"... Brace yourselves."}

With the muted sounds of glass shattering, the fissure widened, and Ruth pulled them into the light.

* * *

A roaring gale passed his right flank, as a gnarled, massive limb sailed past in an earth shattering haymaker.

Vali flipped gracefully in midair, raking a clawed, armored boot across the tendons of the inner arm.

Grendel howled and sobbed.

"Tch, too shallow. Well, at least I'm having a little fun, even if it feels a bit like bullying. All size and no skill makes you a gigantic punching bag."

Grendel had apparently figured out that swinging those colossal limbs wasn't working, because when it stepped forward, what instead came rushing for the hovering Dragon was a maw of cracked, mismatched fangs.

Catching the Dragon completely off-guard, as its snowy white form disappeared entirely into the depths of Grendel's jaws.

Muffled crunching echoed through the air as Grendel chewed.

It took a moment for Grendel to realize that a fresh bout of agony was accompanying its impromptu snack, and that the coppery taste in its mouth was oh so familiar.

Then it finally dawned on it that the odd noise making its jaw vibrate was not the sound of armor crunching and flesh squelching.

When it at last identified the muffled sound as laughter, it was far, far too late.

* * *

… This was strange, he thought.

Sure, there were a _lot_ of them, but that was it, Kiba thought, as he slipped under a point-blank bolt of magic and opened the woman from hip to shoulder with one slash.

There were _just_ a lot of them, though.

Nothing special, he'd hacked through about a dozen terrorists, and had only a singed sleeve to show for it.

Maybe they'd been over-reliant on Gasper's power, for this assault to work?

Or maybe they hadn't planned for both of their trump cards, in the form of Katerea and Grendel, to have opponents ready to not only meet them, but steadily drive them back?

… Shouldn't this be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the enemies of peace?

* * *

Fighting down the rush of vertigo with sheer force of will, Akeno emerged from the darkness and into a claustrophobic warzone.

No, not a warzone.

A killing field.

Hot blood splattered across her face, and a pale, twitching hand flew past her head as a writhing maelstrom of gooey black blades hacked a screaming figure into tiny chunks.

At the other end of the seething mass was a womanly, translucent figure.

Gleaming hot pink eyes whirled on her, narrowed in hate, before widening and softening, accompanied by a softly glowing smile.

"Ruth? Akeno?"

"... S-Suu?"

{"Someone's been busy."}

Suu, tall, curvy, and black as pitch, stood tall before an upturned cross of black steel, shielding its contents from harm.

Bolted to it was a pale, slender form in a Kuoh Academy girl's uniform.

"Gasper!"

Akeno cried out, ducking as a bolt of magic seared the space where her head had been, retaliating with a crack of lightning.

A spray of bullets followed her attack, forcing the mages in the halls to throw out hasty arcane shields, as the Soldier smoothly advancing with an assault rifle shouldered.

Shadows rippled like water as Ruth prowled back into the darkness.

Out of the immediate line of fire, Akeno turned her attention back to Gasper's room.

The mages within were all very much dead, Suu standing _in_ a twisted mess of melted, intertwined limbs that Akeno was pretty sure might have been two or three people at some point.

A still dripping hole, peeking out from beneath Gasper's coffin hinted at how the Slime had entered the room.

She knew that Suu's race apparently fed on magic, but this was…

Not important, not right now.

"Good work, Suu-chan… if we cover you, can you get Gasper-kun down from there?"

Bright pink eyes blinked in surprise, the face they belonged to far more _mature_ than Akeno recalled.

"… Yes… it will take only a moment."

Akeno stepped in front of Suu and Gasper, a golden Gremory circle forming a barrier to ward off any stray fire.

"Do that then, please."

"Y-yes."

Suu turned towards the unconscious Dhampir, giving Akeno a long, lingering glance as she did.

"... If something's bothering you, you can tell me. Just maybe don't take too too long, hmm?"

Akeno's jovial tone was soured somewhat by the screams, gunfire and snarling that partially drowned it out.

Suu let out a small sigh that made her entire body ripple, even as she sprouted extra arms to simultaneously free Gasper, and keep the awkwardly hung boy from tumbling.

"... I-if it's not too much to ask… c-could you keep some of the… details from… Asia? I-I know it's dishonest but… I don't want to scare her."

Suu pleaded in a low voice that Akeno decided didn't suit her all that much.

"Ara, if anything I hope they had enough time to _enjoy_ the consequences of laying a hand on our sweet little Gasper… but don't you worry your cute little head, Suu. We'll keep all the _fun_ little details between us, 'kay?"

As she spoke, she threw a wink over her shoulder.

Suu relaxed with a tiny smile, and Akeno decided that she liked that expression much, much more.

Seconds later, Gasper was free of his bonds (such _clunky_ leather… no accounting for taste, it seemed), cradled gently in Suu's ebon arms.

An odd, chilly ripple passed through the air as Gasper was removed from the cross, Akeno blinking rapidly as color bled back into the surroundings.

A tiny yawn followed, moments later.

Gasper's eyes fluttered open.

"S-Suu-chan…? You're… comfier than I remember…"

Akeno's giggle snapped him fully awake.

"A-Akeno-onee-sama!? W-what-"

Gasper's panicked explanation and nervous gaze ceased without warning.

Akeno opened her mouth, to reassure him, to fret over him, she wasn't entirely sure, because the words had died in her throat.

"S-still n-n-nothing b-but trouble for everyone… huh?"

Staring down at the floor, Gasper's confused, bleary expression had given way to a tired, cynical smile.

The direction of his eyes shifted suddenly as both Akeno's hands gently grabbed him by the cheeks, forcing eye contact.

"You're wrong."

Gasper winced.

"Gasper-kun, there's no getting around it. The world we live in is sick. Gaper-kun is a kind, gentle boy who should be loved by everyone he meets, and yet the world is filled with scum like that-"

-A contemptous flick of the head, directed towards melted bodies-

"Who would take advantage of you, who are afraid of you, just because of how _talented_ you are. I was there too, when Rias found you, remember?"

Gasper averted his eyes.

Tried to anyways, because Akeno had no intention of letting him go.

In more ways than one.

"There's no easy answer here, Gasper-kun. Maybe this sort of thing will keep happening, maybe we'll run into even more people who see you as just a tool. Maybe they'll pick Yuuto-kun next, with his Holy-Demonic Swords. Maybe they'll try to claim Asia-chan as a Holy Maiden once more. Hehe, maybe it will be me, the daughter of a human and a Fallen Cadre."

Suu's eyes narrowed at Asia's mention, but that last one left her watching the Gremory Queen in a contemplative silence.

With each example, Gasper's expression fell a little more, tears pricking the corners of his big pink eyes.

"So I guess the only thing I can really say is… _so what?_ "

Whatever the little Dhampir had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that.

His mouth fell open as he gaped at her in utter shock.

"S-so w-what!? W-w-w-w-what do you mean, so what!?"

Unable to help herself, Akeno giggled.

Gasper was adorable when he was worked up with that.

"Ara ara, didn't you know? We're all a little family of misfits, Gasper-kun. Even Buchou fits right in, Gremory's might be respected but all the Pillar Families think they're a little weird, don't they? But, we all have another thing in common that I think you're forgetting."

Akeno's smile turned a bit wicked as her hands dropped from his face and opened wide.

Grinning, Suu tossed Gasper into the waiting beauties arms, and a hug that was just a little tight.

"When we find someone we love… _we don't let them go_."

Time stumbled as Gasper let out a little squeak, but frozen or not, Akeno's grip wasn't something the tiny boy could escape.

Akeno's voice softened, one hand finding its way up to run tenderly through his blonde hair.

"So don't worry about troubling us, Gasper-kun. No, actually, go ahead and trouble us lots and lots. We'll scold you lots and lots, and then we'll comfort you lots and lots, because no matter what happens, you're family."

Akeno's gentle smile pushed him over the edge, and, in the halting manner that heralded Balor going once more out of control, Gasper pushed his head against the older girl's chest and cried.

Patiently, the beautiful young woman held him close, smiling indulgently as-

A large section of the wall _vanished_ in wisps of ash and tendrils of crimson, exposing them to the outside air and-

"GASPER! WHERE ARE YOU ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

"Oh yeah… I guess Buchou can move again."

Gasper looked up at Akeno, Akeno looked down at him, and Suu just stared.

As the panicked Rias soared through the gaping hole she had created, they both began to laugh.

Smiling, Akeno pushed Gasper to his feet so that he could close the distance to his master on his own.

* * *

"... I feel like I'm missing a few things here."

The ORC was missing most of a wall, there was a small war going on, the gun in his hands was smoking…

Come to think of it, there was a _lot_ of smoke surrounding him, that dull and lifeless smoke from the Arsenal-

{"Oh good, you're back. When'd you wake up?"}

"Dramatic entrance."

Ruth chuckled.

* * *

"I more or less understand the situation, but we'll have to skip the explanations for now. We'll have plenty of time to chat after we burn the last of these _vermin_ for laying a hand on my cute little Gasper."

Said cute little Gasper had Rias' arms draped possessively around him from behind.

The school grounds had been well and truly morphed into a warzone, once Balor's View had released its grip, the remaining security forces of the three factions tearing into the gathered mages and the beasts they'd summoned for reinforcements.

A twisted, pitiful giant with a broken jaw was currently crawling through the wreckage of the gymnasium in a futile attempt to escape its pursuer.

Drifting languidly in the air behind it was a comparatively tiny figure, clad in blood-smeared armor of white.

As Rias let her gaze drift up, she found the greatest scene of carnage was also the farthest from the ground.

Far above the heads of everyone present, a maelstrom of frost warred against a sea of oily black flames.

"... Grayfia?"

* * *

Sure were a lot of them, weren't there?

In a rare moment of contemplation, Xenovia thought it rather sad that peace had so many enemies.

Maybe she was just being selfish, she mused, as Durandal's roar claimed yet more victims.

After all, what she wanted the most from peace between the factions was the chance to maybe-

Hiding among the dead, a terrorist rose with knife raised high.

Whirling, already knowing she had moved too slowly to defend, Xenovia grit her teeth as-

A thin line of steel coiled around her attacker's neck, and severed it entirely with a neat flick.

"Geez… pay attention Xen-chan! I'm gonna get really worried if you zone out like that!"

Excalibur Mimic coiling about her like a snake, Irina slipped up beside the stunned Xenovia with a cheery wink.

"I-Irina! I…"

Irina silenced her with a finger over her friends lips.

"Nope! I've got a lot I want to say to you too, and I'm definitely gonna yell at you later for disappearing and scaring me like that, but first we have things to do!"

Xenovia blinked once, twice, and then relaxed.

Turning away with a bold smile on her face, Xenovia went back to back with her oldest friend.

"Yeah… let's get the nuisances out of the way."

"Teehee~!"

* * *

Kiba laughed as the cluster of mages he'd been up against vanished, blown away by a massive hunk of turf with white lines painted into it.

"Yuuto-senpai."

Koneko greeted.

"Oh, hello Koneko-chan. Come to join in on the fun?"

As his light-hearted response slipped out, a dark-robed spellcaster tripped and fell, likely unbalanced by the sword he'd thrown through her chest.

"Mm."

He'd been more or less surrounded, even with Koneko's entrance, but that changed as their attackers were driven back by a rain of gold and pink.

Kalawarner and Raynare fluttered down from the sky to join them.

"Are you alright, Kiba-san?"

"Yep, they're nothing special when their targets can move."

"Hehe, mind if we cut in?"

Raynare giggled.

"Be my guest."

Kiba offered, and then his smile and the light atmosphere vanished.

"It's good you're all safe, but…"

Kiba flared his white wings, seeking out Rias with his eyes.

"There's something strange about all this. Be careful."

* * *

"How!? How are you able to push me back!? I should be stronger than you, especially with the blessings of Ouroborus!"

Grayfia paused her assault, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Ophis? Come to think of it, it was a bit odd that you'd try to fight me with flames, instead of the Waters of Leviathan you're so proud of."

Katerea nearly fell out of the sky.

"W-what the hell is that!? Don't screw with me! I-"

"Ah, don't misunderstand. It's not as if I didn't notice, I just didn't care."

Grayfia continued, her reserved demeanor contrasting with her merciless rejoinder.

"You'd go that far to mock me!?"

Grayfia quirked her brow at that.

"Yes, I believe I would. More importantly, now that I know who you're allied with, I can extrapolate the rest, so please, go ahead and die."

"You bitch! You utter-"

The Leviathan gagged as a coin-sized droplet of cold water hit the back of her throat and trickled down it.

"That's quite enough out of you."

Grayfia had one hand outstretched in the direction of her foe, palm upwards.

Choking and coughing, the panicked heiress lifted one hand, desperately trying to gather her power and-

The outstretched hand clenched, and the ball of water blossomed into a mass of twisted, frozen thorns.

Following up with a snap of her fingers, Grayfia froze the corpse solid, leaving it to tumble from the sky without ceremony.

Coiled around a frozen heart, a black, serpentine form shattered.

The maid turned slowly in the air, already dismissing her opponent and applying cold air to her burns as her gaze shifted to the newcomer.

"Hmm, done with Grendel already, are you?"

* * *

Rias tilted her head to one side, allowing the bolt of magic to sail harmlessly past.

The Power of Destruction vaporized her attackers neck in a hissing arc, and she nearly flinched at how loud the sound of the severed head hitting the dirt was.

The battlefield had gone almost silent, there were no mages, summoned monsters or _living_ giants in sight, and-

Rias twisted rapidly, shielding Gasper with her body as a silver comet crashed down from the sky, less than twenty feet away.

Coughing, she covered her mouth with one hand, still cradling Gasper protectively with the other.

Those gathered watched in silence for a moment as the dust cleared.

The first thing she saw was silver.

It took several seconds to recognize what she was seeing.

Prone and still within a slowly spreading pool of blood, the limp form of Grayfia Lucifuge could be seen, a gaping, circular hole where her left clavicle should have been.

From her left breast, bared to the open air, to the side of her neck, pale skin bathed in crimson… the maid wheezing raggedly, struggling to maintain consciousness.

"GRAYFIA!"

"No! Stay where you are!"

Grayfia shouted, even as the act brought a mist of crimson spraying from her bloody lips.

She and her peerage froze in place, aching to run to her, get into position to protect, to heal, to do _something_.

All except one.

Laced with quiet irritation, Yuuji's voice drifted into the stillness.

"Just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you… Vali?"

A low chuckle was the only response given.

High above the empty battlefield, the White Dragon hovered with a smirk on his face.

* * *

"Just like that, Vali? What shitty timing."

Azazel's smirk had never seemed so forced.

"As good a time as any."

"Strange, your new friends didn't seem surprised to see you giant-slaying."

"Probably because they were kept in the dark. I'm just observing for now."

"My maid would disagree."

Sirzechs chimed in mildly, eyes narrowed just a touch.

"Expressionless people are difficult. Kind of a shame, since that was meant to start the fight, not end it."

Vali shrugged, though some of those watching noticed he did seem just a _little_ regretful.

"Guess Katerea was less third-rate than I had her pegged for if Lucifuge was that tired."

"So what did they offer you, Vali, that you would throw your lot in with terrorists? I somehow doubt you've taken an interest in the family legacy."

Azazel asked.

"Hmm? No, the last name of Lucifer still means nothing. I don't even care about interfering with the alliance."

An astonished silence fell over the ruined school grounds.

"...Lucifer? … So the missing descendant is you, isn't it?"

Serafall whispered, a hint of pity in her voice.

"That's right. I am Vali Lucifer, the latest in an unbroken line tracing back to one of the original Satans. My human mother is the reason I was allowed to wield the power of the Vanishing Dragon, though."

"So then what's your game?"

Azazel inquired, more curious than affronted.

"Asgard. The Khaos Brigade is picking a fight with other pantheons, and Asgard is up first. I admit, even I would have trouble finding the opportunity to battle against Odin or Thor on my own."

"... Can't say I'm surprised. Always knew someone as battle-hungry as you would go looking for bigger opportunities one day. Still stings a little, but I suppose it could be worse."

Vali chuckled at the carefree answer.

"Yeah… you didn't look all that shocked. This was still fun though, so don't go getting yourself killed until we have a chance to fight for real. After all, I'm-"

 _ **A distant, ponderous shriek.**_

"Completely, utterly _worthless_."

 _ **Iron grinding upon iron, edge upon edge.**_

A set of dark eyes, narrowed in malice.

 _ **Echoing from within the sickly smoke that coiled around his feet.**_

Directed skywards, Kazami Yuuji's impassive mask was replaced by a sneer of contempt.

"... And what, do you mean by that?"

Vali Lucifer's mild inquiry hung heavy in the air, unseen pressure crushing down on everything from above.

"There was no point to any of this. The only reason you're even here is for the chance to make a _spectacle_ out of your weak little betrayal."

Yuuji responded flatly.

"Hehe… maybe it was a Dragon's pride at work."

Vali admitted after a moment of quiet contemplation.

Then, abruptly, his expression twisted, the grin of a shark in bloody waters.

"But don't pretend you're any different, _Soldier_. You're just like me. Violence is the only thing you'll ever be good for. You wouldn't be able to survive a peaceful world, either."

A short distance away from her Pawn, Rias glared her fury, teeth bared in hostility.

How dare he!

How dare he pretend he knew anything about-

Akeno, eyes wide and the blood drained from her face, was staring hard to one side.

Unheeded by all, Asia was hard at work sealing Grayfia's wounds.

That… wasn't where her Queen was looking.

Instead, her gaze was on-

Yuuji, and the glimmer of understanding in his black eyes.

As if once more in Balor's grip, Rias felt her heartbeat stumble as he gave a resigned little shrug.

In perfect harmony once more, both her and Akeno arrived at the same bitter revelation.

"You're... not wrong."

The man they loved… had never looked so lonely.

* * *

The savage, triumphant laughter of a Dragon dominated the stillness.

"You see!? You don't understand either! Ordinary, boring peace! Meaningless! You don't understand it, and you never will! Just like me!"

"... Yeah… you're probably right."

"... Y-Yuuji?"

Akeno reached out a weak, trembling hand.

Just a little farther and she could reach him.

She had worked so hard to traverse the distance, that space that Yuuji kept between himself and the world.

Yet here they were, mere paces between them and yet never had they seemed farther apart.

"I don't have the faintest idea what peace is supposed to be like. I mean, my one honest attempt at _normalcy_ led me right here, so isn't something like peace a bit out of my strike zone?"

Somewhere nearby, a quiet sniffle drifted out.

"So then why _are_ you here? Are you just a dog on a leash, barking when he's told? Dancing to the tune of your masters?"

"Maybe, but that doesn't sound like me. Directions are nice and all when you don't really trust yourself, but things like Satans and being a Devil don't really mean anything to me."

Rias flinched.

He had said it before, hadn't he?

'Being a Devil changes nothing.'

… She had accepted those words, then, and decided that if being a Devil didn't matter to Yuuji, then she'd do whatever it took to help him find something that _did._

Not just because her was her servant, but because she loved him, as a woman loved a man.

Rias called to him, then, but...

Try as she might, the words refused to form.

In an almost callous gesture, an iron hand lifted into the air and pointed towards the Satans, unaware or uncaring of the sad, sympathetic gazes they returned.

"Family. To someone, they're family, and that's all that matters, in the end."

... No one quite could make sense of his words, but...

"And the way things are going, I might even end up part of one of those families... no, I doubt I have much choice there... meh."

... At some point the bitter, sardonic tone had drained from the young man's voice, leaving behind something airy and light.

"I don't understand peace, but family?"

Yuuji leaned forward and his voice took on a hushed tone, redundant since he didn't actually lower his voice.

"Well actually, between you and me, I don't really get that one either, just yet. I mean, while we're at it, I've even managed to fall in love, and get this, for some baffling, mildly terrifying reason, there's people right here who _love me back_."

Those staring at him in what had once been shock and hurt were smiling now, and here or there a stray tear was hastily wiped away.

Vali's smirk had shifted into a contemplative stare.

"So what if I don't understand peace? I'll just rely on someone who does, and if I have to, I'll go right through you to get that chance."

"That's more like it… come and fight Soldier… no, Kazami Yuuji!"

Several people, Vali included, nearly fell over in shock at Yuuji's immediate retort.

"Hell no."

* * *

 _When the Arsenal had come to life in order to protect its host, the conflicting desire of said host had resulted in Yuuji being sent into a deep sleep._

 _Not, however, without sending him into a dream as well._

 _While the spirits of the nameless dead fought in his place, Yuuji had aimlessly wandered the darkness of the Memoir._

 _Aimlessly, until unseen hands took his own and gently, insistently led him down unseen trails._

 _They'd led him to the base of a dead tree._

 _High above, twined around the highest branches of the corpse, were reaching tendrils of verdant green._

 _He watched as they penetrated the gloom, stretching all the way to a distant sun._

 _When they reached their destination, Kazami Yuuji had smiled at what he saw._

 _Now, though, he'd found something that no matter what, he refused to let go unpunished._

 _Empty, meaningless betrayal._

 _A rejection of the safe, happy world he'd fought for._

 _The simple, honest normalcy he was so afraid of, yet so desperate to reach._

 _So when Yuuji closed his eyes, those unseen hands led him back to that dead tree, and the thing he'd found there in its branches._

 _Once more, Kazami Yuuji smiled at what he saw… and began to climb._

* * *

Having lost a few feet of altitude, for a brief instant, Vali Lucifer was left staring in open mouthed shock.

"No? What do you mean no!?"

"Please. We both know I can't take you in a fight, so why bother?"

"... I have absolutely no idea where this conversation is going."

Who had actually spoken those words was irrelevant when everyone was thinking them.

"... Then, what the hell are you planning?"

Yuuji closed his eyes and let out a long, slow exhale as a featureless, dull grey rifle appeared in his hands.

"It's not all that complicated."

When those eyes opened, once dull orbs blazed a wild, verdant green, green that spider-webbed down his face, down his arms and across the barrel of his gun.

"I'm going to shoot you in the head."

The barrel of the gun, aimed high.

"And, if you're dead set on picking a fight with Asgard…"

Teeth bared to the heavens in the smile of a beast.

 ** _"Try not to die."_**

It began with the low, droning chant of a hundred voices.

" _ **Death throes of eternity!"**_

From everywhere at once, accompanied by the distant groan and shriek of grinding iron.

" _ **Pierced upon a lowly thorn!"**_

The world held its breath as the whispered chant converged on one point, and cowered when it turned into a roar.

" _ **MISTILTEINN!"**_

That same savage grin on his face, Kazami Yuuji pulled the trigger.

* * *

How disappointing.

The attack was fast, he supposed, and he couldn't fault the accuracy.

Yet the streak of green concealing the dull missile was fast, and _only_ that.

Truly disappointing.

If it was speed that one talked about, then such was the speed of the White Dragon Emperor that lifting two fingers to catch the unassuming projectile was an act that barely qualified as effort.

Such was the speed of the White Dragon Emperor, that the end result was nothing more than a shattered face-plate, and gouged open cheek…

 _ **When the unassuming projectile nearly tore those fingers off.**_

Falling from the heavens and splattering into the dirt, the silence was broken only by the sound of dripping blood.

Then that silence was shattered to pieces by the anguished screams of a wounded Dragon.

* * *

Stricken dumb, the leaders of the three factions watched the White Dragon Emperor howl and thrash in mid-dair, blood running through the clawed fingers of his gauntlets.

Failed.

 _Their instincts had failed them._

If there was one thing they had in common, it was an intuition for battle, forged in the fires of nightmarish conflicts that had threatened to engulf the entirety of their respective races.

Instinct bordering the realm of precognition, hardwired to perceive the slightest threat even before it was brought to bear.

Instincts that had told them that this… Mistelteinn was not a threat.

In terms of power, it was… negligible at best.

Insignificant.

Yet, in abject defiance of what should have been a simple truth, in the heavens above…

The blood of a mighty Dragon rained down slowly upon the earth.

* * *

"Ghhhk… what the hell was that!?"

Vali hissed through clenched teeth, clutching his still bleeding face.

Yuuji's answer was so incredibly, utterly typical that those who knew him struggled not to laugh, in spite of their bewilderment.

"A bullet?"

He suggested, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Oh, and I guess it was a warning too."

The casual remark ground everything to a halt.

"I don't really care what you do. We live in a world where the powerful can do whatever they damn well please, after all. But Vali, no matter how wide the gap between Heaven, Earth and Hell, no matter what heights you ascend to seeking a good fight, one truth remains."

Yuuji's eyes went cold, and his merciless declaration left even the White Dragon Emperor doubting his own courage, if only for a moment as sharp words cut through the pain.

"Vali Lucifer, there's no such thing as an immortal. Everyone dies in the end, and the day you forget those words... _I'll carve them above your grave._ "

* * *

Shortly after, a somewhat flustered young man in Eastern-style armor had emerged out of a set of hovering torii, riding a _cloud_ of all things, and whisked the still bleeding Vali away.

No one had made any move to stop him, least of all Yuuji, who had simply stood in place and watched, expression unreadable.

It wasn't until the gates had closed that insight was granted into the mysterious ways of Kazami Yuuji.

"... Not bad, Devil-kun. What exactly was that? I can kind of guess from the name, but…"

Azazel had wandered over along with Gabriel and Serafall, while Sirzechs and Michael had taken charge of the clean-up.

"Huh? I wasn't joking, old man. It was just a bullet."

Yuuji explained, without turning.

"A bullet made of wood."

Azazel pointed out, curious as to why that particular phrase seemed to offend the young man.

"Right, a bullet without casing, primer… never mind the fact that there's no way soft wood like that could withstand the amount of propellant necessary for an M24 round."

From the side, Akeno leaned forward in curiosity, looking up at Yuuji in contemplation.

"... Are you… sulking?"

"Shut up. I hate using weapons I can't understand."

Yuuji was, in fact, sulking.

"Ufufu~."

"Hehe, well, I can't say I'm any different, so…?"

Azazel prompted.

"Pay attention. I shot him in the head with a bullet. Any bullet that can't kill its target with a direct hit is a defective product."

"I find it hard to believe you could bring down the White Dragon Emperor with a simple bullet, unless… oh."

"Yep."

The two men went silent.

"... Once more, for the people in the back?"

Raynare asked hesitantly, after it became clear that the conversation was apparently over.

She took a step back in surprise as Azazel whirled in her direction with bright eyes.

"Haven't you heard the story of Baldr? That's where the name comes from! A god incapable of being harmed by any weapon, man, or god, brought down by Loki's trickery and a dart made of _mistletoe_!"

"That's what Yuuji-kun shot Vali with? Mistletoe?"

Kiba asked, somewhat skeptically.

"Exactly! A lowly thorn that would barely qualify as a weapon, slaying that which couldn't be slain!"

Azazel declared triumphantly.

"So what's the secret? A weapon that bypasses immortality?"

Akeno inquired.

"Baldr wasn't immortal though, was he? None of the Norse Gods were… I mean, are."

Kalawarner pointed out.

Azazel's eyes lit up as she spoke.

He was just about to present another theory when a blur of pink breezed past him.

"That was super cool, Yuuji-chan! Now you have a super secret special attack to go along with your robot fist! Well I guess it's not a secret, but the super cool part is still true!"

Serafall exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Yuuji by the hands and spinning him about.

No one was more surprised than her when her cheerful spinning nearly spilled the Pawn into the dirt, her grip on his hands the only thing keeping him from falling.

"AH! I broke Yuuji-chan! I'm sooorrrry!"

His head flopped towards the sky, Yuuji let out an irritated sigh.

"Just don't drop me."

Azazel chuckled as several people panicked at the odd sight.

"Yeah, I was gonna ask about that… talking is all you can handle right now, isn't it?"

Akeno and Rias, who had taken over and were lifting Yuuji upright, whipped their heads in the Cadre's direction, and then back to Yuuji.

"Yep. Can't move anything but my face. Kind of inconvenient."

"Yuuji! You should have said something! Are you hurt!? Where does it hurt!? Asia, get over here!"

Rias, perhaps predictably, was beginning to panic, and together with Akeno, reversed direction to lower him gently to the ground, keeping him propped up in a sitting position as the little Bishop bustled over.

"I'm not hurt. _They_ just told me that one shot was all I can handle, and even that took everything in the tank… say, is anyone else feeling chilly? I'm freezing."

Now that they had him in their arms, Yuuji's shivering had become apparent.

That shivering seemed to ease, somewhat, as the warm emerald of Twilight Healing bathed over his form, but Yuuji remained just as limp as ever.

"So much death, wreathing one so young… allow me to banish that deathly chill."

Gabriel had begun to step forward, a soft glow surrounding her as she did, but Azazel halted the Seraph with an outstretched hand and a wink.

"Mighty kind of you, but he's not in any immediate danger, is he?"

Blue eyes the color of a warm summer sky blinked in confusion, but after a moment, the Seraph offered a hesitant nod.

"Azazel, this is no time for your games!"

Rias snapped.

Unfazed, Azazel knelt down beside the fuming heiress with a chuckle, and whispered something in her ear.

Whatever he suggested left the crimson-haired young woman blushing to her roots, but she was quick to lean across Yuuji to share with Akeno in a heated whisper.

Akeno's flushed cheeks were accompanied by a wicked smile.

In perfect harmony, the two beauties began to giggle.

The helpless Yuuji could only sigh.

"... I think I'm in danger."

"Well, before you get whisked away, mind finishing the story?"

Azazel asked, without a trace of sympathy.

"Huh? Oh, that. Kala kind of had the right idea. Mistelteinn isn't really anything fancy. But if it can die, Mistelteinn can kill it."

"Nothing fancy he says... wait, then what about Vali?"

"Hmm? No, that wasn't a _direct_ hit, was it? So unless he bleeds out like a dumbass, he should be just fine… probably."

"So that's why it tore through the armor… this came up before, but Albion isn't _really_ dead."

"Yeah, I don't get it."

Serafall admitted, though some of the more canny among those listening didn't quite believe it.

Azazel took the admittance for the prompt it was.

"Well, 'if you shoot someone in the head, they'll die' sounds like common sense, right?"

Enjoying the attentive audience, Azazel grinned.

"But the reality isn't that simple. The weapon used, and who it's used on are kind of important, right?"

Azazel pointed out, as the glimmers of understanding began to appear.

"After all, no one's going to expect some brats slingshot to work on an elephant, are they? If I'm right, Mistelteinn ignores those differences entirely. A kill shot is a kill shot, whether the target is an ant or a Dragon."

"... A weapon for the weak to wield against the strong."

Kalawarner intoned softly.

"Something like that. Now, hate to be a pain, but I'm feeling really, _really_ cold and well, paralyzed, so if someone could at least drag me indoors, I would really appreciate it."

Yuuji interjected in a dry voice.

Akeno giggled once more, and twisted Yuuji's head, all the better to stuff it deeply into her chest.

* * *

Strictly speaking, the conference wasn't over, but the leaders had unanimously decided to let the young ones leave and rest.

Irina had been excused from her duty as a bodyguard (symbolic of the Church, more than anything, to begin with), and Xenovia had been excused by Rias once her peerage had been dismissed.

Not without a hug for reassurance, since the Gremory King had easily seen through to her Knights unease.

So here they were, sitting in silence, in the old church they'd stayed at on their last mission together.

At the foot of the altar, the only noise the sound of Irina's boot tapping idly against the stone floor.

Xenovia wasn't used to having trouble speaking, nor having the very air of a church make her skin crawl.

Then again, she wasn't used to being afraid of what someone might say to her, either, so suffice to say, she'd been better.

"Xen-chan."

"Y-yes?"

She hated how weak she sounded.

She wanted to turn so they were at least _facing_ each other, but even that seemed too high a hurdle.

"I'm sorry."

What?

She must have misheard, what did _Irina_ have to apologize for.

"I-I was really mad when they told me you'd gone rogue… I was so hurt and angry and I… couldn't help but think that somehow I'd _let you down_."

"No! T-that's-!"

Xenovia whirled on her in shock, only to find Irina hurtling towards her.

As the body slammed into her, Xenovia instinctively wrapped her arms around her, shielding Irina from the sudden bounce down the short stone steps.

"Irina!? What are you-"

Xenovia was struck silent, her voice completely cut off by the fists drumming against her chest.

"XEN-CHAN YOU DUMMY!"

The fists drumming against her chest… and the teardrops falling upon her shirt.

"YOU SCARED ME YOU DUMMY! YOU KNOW HOW SCARY IT WAS WHEN YOU VANISHED LIKE THAT!?"

"I-Irina… I…"

"NO! YOU DON'T GET TO TALK JUST LET ME YELL AT YOU FOR A BIT YOU DUMMY!"

Without meaning to, a chuckle slipped out… Irina hadn't changed at all, had she?

Irina froze atop her with a suspicious scowl, the puffed up cheeks and watery eyes reminding Xenovia of that kitten they'd taken care of together, years ago.

"Did you just laugh?"

"... No?"

"You definitely did."

Irina pouted at her.

"It was an accident."

Xenovia struggled to mask her smile, but she was never any good at things like that.

"... I'm still mad at you, you know."

Irina said, pressing her head against Xenovia's chest with a huff.

"I'm sorry."

Arms wormed their way under Xenovia shoulders and into a tight hug.

"You better be."

A moment later, the embrace was returned.

"... But… let me have this for a little while."

It might have been one, or both of them who said that.

It hardly mattered in the end.

* * *

"Ara ara, Yuuji-kun sure overdid it this time, didn't he?"

"You're right Akeno, he most certainly did… and you're sure it doesn't hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine, Rias. Well, I'm not in any pain, anyways."

Akeno had carried the immobile Yuuji through the summoning circle, up to his (their) room, and gently deposited him on the edge of the bed, after pulling off his shoes.

After checking on the rest of the peerage, including Gasper, who Rias had refused to leave behind, and thus was currently spending time with Koneko, Rias had joined them.

Now, the two lovely young women were looming over their helpless boyfriend, chatting pleasantly.

"Seems like a good chance though, doesn't it Akeno?"

"Indeed, and it's for his own good so it can't be helped, can it?"

"I was sure my Queen would see things the same way."

"Mhm, after all, when will we get another chance to one-sidedly spoil Yuuji-kun?"

The innocent conversation was marred, somewhat, by the flush of their cheeks, the excited glimmer of their eyes, and the rough, shallow nature of their breathing.

"... Don't say 'spoil' when you mean 'molest'."

Yuuji suggested in a resigned tone of voice, as the girls approached.

Not like he could escape anyways.

… Not like he wanted to, anyways.

* * *

Xenovia had moved them both into a sitting position, and Irina had perched herself across her lap as if it was the natural thing to do.

Irina wasn't quite willing to let go, yet, and Xenovia, though less for physical affection in general, was enjoying the proximity if nothing else.

"Michael told me the truth, you know."

Irina told her out of nowhere.

Xenovia went stiff.

"... The truth?"

"Oh please, you're no good at playing innocent. The truth. God's death, and why you and Asia-chan were really excommunicated."

"... I see… wait, what was that last part?"

"Yep, Michael felt super bad about that, which is why the Church was forbidden from pursuing either of you for any reason. Didn't you think it was weird that no one ever came after you?"

Irina explained candidly.

"I might know that you're amazing with or without it, but the Church thinks your Durandal is _super_ important, so it would be weird if they let it slip out of their fingers so easily, right? And I mean, Asia-chan has Twilight Healing, which is basically _the_ Sacred Gear of healing."

Xenovia tilted her head.

"I guess that is weird."

As if it had nothing to do with her.

"... You didn't think about it even once, did you?"

"No."

Irina's head fell upon Xenovia shoulder with a put-upon sigh.

"... Come to think of it, you make it sound like it was Michael's choice."

Irina's head shot up with wide eyes.

"Now you pick up on that!?"

Xenovia let out a thoughtful hum.

"That seems to be the case, yes."

"... Michael had to remove you, to protect the system God left behind. It's a lot more fragile without the Father, so for Michael to run it, he has to be super strict to avoid letting it deteriorate further."

Irina explained, a bit sadly.

"That doesn't mean he has to like it, though, so as long as neither of you took direct action against the faith, he forbid the Church from laying a hand on you! Basically you two are off limits! Heaven doesn't give a lot of direct decrees like that, so the higher-ups paid _reaaallly_ close attention!"

Xenovia noticed that Irina seemed not only excited, but almost… reverent?

Oh, that made a lot of sense… she'd found someone to follow in place of God too, hadn't she?

"... So Michael was protecting us?"

"Yep! Coordinated with Lucifer and everything, which would super duper blasphemous if it wasn't Michael!"

… Was that how it worked?

"I see."

She didn't, at all, but Irina seemed happy so it was fine.

"Oh yeah that's right I forgot the thing I wanted to tell you!"

"... There's more?"

"Of course there's more! Silly Xen-chan!"

Irina giggled.

"After Michael finishes turning me into an Angel I'm gonna be stationed in Kuoh as a representative of Heaven! So… y-you know… it w-w-would probably make sense if I j-joined your class since we're the same age?"

"No, you acting shy now doesn't make sense… wait, hold on, I feel like you skipped over something important there."

Irina winked and stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth.

* * *

"I kind of want to put his clothes back on so we can do that again."

"Right? Undressing Yuuji is really exciting for some reason!"

"I'd be flattered if I wasn't so confused. Ready to fill me in yet?"

"No, that's a good point, Yuuji-kun might feel left out if he's the only one naked."

"You're right Akeno, that's no good at all."

"You two are considerate about strange things."

"Ara, does that mean Yuuji-kun _doesn't_ want to watch us strip?"

"This and that are completely separate issues."

The response came in the form of short skirts, sliding down wide hips and smooth, shapely legs.

Following Akeno's unspoken signal, the girls decided to mix things up a little bit, and rather than strip down to their underwear first, removed everything from their lower bodies first.

The white hems of their school shirts were just long enough to preserve modesty… if they let them.

Whether they did or not hardly needs to be said.

"Ufufu, looks like _one_ part of Yuuji-kun is moving just fine."

A grinning Akeno commented.

"I was actually a bit concerned about that."

Rias and Yuuji said that at exactly the same time, birthing a round of chuckles.

Once they were both fully nude, Akeno and Rias both… hesitated.

Yuuji kept his silence, understanding their issue but willing to let them solve it on their own.

… They had yet to do it with the three of them at once, after all.

"Akeno, I have an idea."

"You do? Go ahead, then."

"Excuse me."

With that, Rias crawled onto the bed beside Yuuji.

Gently, she propped him up into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

A sitting position he couldn't actually maintain, without support, which Rias solved with her own body.

Sliding in behind him, she molded her body against his, pressing her breasts up his back as she embraced him, her long legs gently laid against the outside of his own.

As her body slowly began to grind against his, Rias wrapped one hand around and tilted Yuuji's head around to face her, as the other began to caress the chiseled muscles of his chest.

"You've been working so hard, haven't you, my lovely servant? Sit still for now, and let us pamper you."

Rias crooned, looking deeply into Yuuji's eyes with a tender smile.

Only for a moment, before she closed the distance and laid loving claim to Yuuji's lips, delighting in leading the kiss as her tongue twined gently past Yuuji's to explore.

Without a hint of shame, Akeno took a moment to indulge in the sights and sounds of the intimacy of the two people she loved most, before she kneeled down by the bedside to indulge herself a little as well.

Rias felt a shiver go down her spine as Yuuji jolted against her, the sudden spike of pleasure he felt transmitting through his lips to hers in a shallow surge of heat.

With slow, deliberate motions, she broke the kiss, letting her tongue trail behind, dragging languidly across his lips before letting it run sensuously across her own.

Carefully, she grasped Yuuji's chin and slowly turned it for him, allowing him to appreciate the new development in full.

Gazing adoringly up at him, from where she kneeled on the floor, was the heavy-lidded, radiant violet of Akeno's eyes.

Only the barest tip of his rod visible, the rest nestled between a set of huge, pillowy breasts.

She waited to ensure his gaze was fully ensnared by her own before she began to move.

Placing her hands against the side of her boobs, Akeno slowly began to push, supple flesh molding around his length as she applied more and more pressure.

Then, she released the pressure just a bit and began to pump her breasts slowly up and down, taking care to never once break eye contact.

Whenever a hint of Yuuji's penis would peak out the top of her breasts, Akeno would let her tongue loll slowly out from her lips, adding a thin trail of saliva as lubricant.

Gauging Yuuji's reactions with a passionate smile, Akeno decided to kick things up a notch.

Yuuji jolted against Rias as Akeno pushed her breasts down more forcefully, and flicked her tongue across his tip.

That was when Yuuji decided that 'numb' was a wholly inaccurate description of his current state.

Akeno's smile grew delighted as a low groan filled the air, and deciding that she very much wanted to hear another, began to gradually increase the speed in which she jacked her man off using her breasts.

Then, Rias decided that _she'd_ had enough fun watching, and once more got involved.

Gyrating against Yuuji's body with small, rhythmic motions, Rias bit her lip as each roll of her hips caused her stiff nipples to drag across his broad back, as her hot lips sucked and nuzzled against his neck.

Once, anyone but JB touching his scars had been a deeply, deeply uncomfortable experience for Yuuji.

With tender, persistent affection, Rias and Akeno had led him past his trauma, by gradually forcing him to accept that they loved each and every scar and imperfection, for the simple reason that they were a part of him.

Now, their touch upon his scars was something both comforting, and strangely pleasant.

Something Rias now took full advantage of, soft fingertips roaming across his chest and abs, feathery touches lovingly tracing old wounds.

All the while Akeno pumped and massaged his dick with her breasts, louder now, wet and slick as they were with sweat, saliva, and oozing precum.

Even Yuuji could only handle being one-sidedly attacked for so long.

His eyes had just begun to glaze over when at last, Akeno spoke.

"Yuuji."

Dark eyes snapped into focus against smoldering violet as the silky flesh smothering his aching member began to move in long, insistent strokes.

"Cum for me."

As if trying to crush his length within her chest, the black-haired beauty squashed her breasts together hard, forced them down as far as they would go, and-

Jabbed the tip of her tongue against the opening of his penis.

Teeth clenched, a muffled grunt echoed out as Yuuji erupted, bathing Akeno's face and breasts with hot cum as she moaned in rapture.

The explosion left the two of them panting, Akeno sinking heavily onto her haunches as she felt her body quiver with a light orgasm of her own.

A smile of pure ecstasy on her lovely, white-stained face, Akeno let her eyes drift shut, propping her breasts up with one arm as she reveled in the sticky heat that marked her.

If Himejima Akeno had something so bland as a favorite kink, it was this, being positively _drenched_ in her man's essence.

It just made her feel so... _desirable._

As long lashes fluttered open, she once more met the eyes of Yuuji, feeling another shudder of pleasure as she took in the wildness of his eyes, just barely restrained by that minute, secretive smile she loved.

As he watched her, Akeno began what was perhaps her next favorite thing; clean-up.

Well-mannered as she was, she started with Yuuji first, enjoying coaxing out more restrained moans and grunts as she licked his still erect member clean.

Not wanting to monopolize Yuuji's important part for too long, she sat back and contentedly started on herself, scooping the cum from between and across her breasts and licking it sensuously from her fingers.

"Mm… thanks for the treat."

"I think I'm probably the one who should be showing gratitude right about now."

"Mmm~."

Watching the two of them fondly, Rias made herself heard as they drifted off into silence.

"Ah, as expected of our Yuuji… still ready to go, aren't you?"

"It would be pretty selfish of me to bow out here, wouldn't it?"

That Yuuji was being completely, utterly sincere brought fond, lovely laughter forth from the two women.

Akeno stood up then, and sat down on the bed beside Yuuji.

A playful smirk on her face, she snaked her arm across Yuuji's back and gripped the shoulder opposite from her… that her supple skin whispered across Rias' hard nipples was certainly coincidence.

With a gasp towards her friend, Rias scooted away from Yuuji and graciously allowed her Queen to take her place, the somewhat shorter girl folding her legs beneath her as she wrapped around Yuuji from behind.

Akeno squished her breasts against Yuuji with a great deal more insistence, working to keep him riled up as the slight difference in her posture allowed her more motion against his back.

Rias' refined, graceful demeanor was twinged with an air of immorality from her flushed, naked state as she kneeled down daintily between the legs of her man.

Calmly, she leaned forward and began to slowly, patiently envelop Yuuji's towering mast between the springy flesh of her tits.

The three of them had taken great pains to learn the main difference between the breasts of Rias and Akeno.

Akeno's breasts were both soft and heavy, meaning that when she pressed them against something it gave the sensation of being slowly, lovingly engulfed.

Rias' breasts, though a little bit less massive, had better elasticity and a bewitching bounciness that pushed out in an ever so slightly demanding fashion.

Rias began a steady, focused cadence as she pumped Yuuji, chest bouncing in a way that threatened to, but never quite seemed to free his member from its fleshy confines.

Rias' breasts were already somewhat slick with sweat, having worked herself up a bit already, so a slower pace to avoid undue friction was unnecessary.

She had also quickly discovered that the differences between her boobs and Akeno's could be used to her advantage in cases like this, when she wanted her mouth involved.

A sharp hiss escaped from Yuuji as her lips slowly wrapped around his tip, and a hot tongue began to wander slowly around his length.

She could only hold that position before long before pushing against her own bouncy flesh began to grow uncomfortable, but the cunning redhead decided to take advantage by slowly taking Yuuji into her mouth and setting him free at a quicker pace.

Delicately yet without a hint of warning, from time to time she would let just the barest touch of her teeth grace his dick, a move that had taken a great deal of practice in exchange for great appreciation from the man she loved.

Akeno too, was rather riled up, having never quite come down from the light orgasm she'd experienced from being dyed with Yuuji's colors.

One-sidedly engaging in the somewhat rougher love-making that she and Yuuji often enjoyed, Akeno's nails dragged slowly across Yuuji's skin as she sucked and nibbled at his neck and shoulder.

Grinding hard against her lovers sturdy frame, she jerked his head back to his and mashed her lips against his, forcing her tongue into his mouth.

This backfired in the best possible way, as one of the few things Yuuji could move properly was brought into play, his sadistic tendencies focused on a single point to devastating effect.

Akeno moaned happily as Yuuji's mouth dominated hers, reveling in the fact that breaking the kiss was solely her decision, a decision she utterly lacked the will to make.

Yuuji's body was slowly growing more mobile and more animated, but for now it seemed to be limited to the faintest twitching and bucking of the hips.

Sensing he was reaching his peak once more, the girls ramped up their ministrations, driving him slowly over the edge.

Akeno broke the kiss with a wet gasp, and this time, Yuuji was able to turn and face Rias by his own power.

Rias remained silent, offering a loving, benevolent smile, erotic in its promise to accept every last one of his desires.

With that, she dove down, forcing as much of Yuuji's twitching cock into her mouth as she could manage.

This time, Yuuji was unable to grit his teeth, and exploded into Rias' warm mouth with a low cry.

Unable to keep all of it contained, liquid lust dribbled down Rias' chin and onto her heaving breasts as she let out a long, pleased sigh.

Breathless to the last, the trio of lovers remained where they were, Yuuji held firmly in place by the soft body molded against his back, and the abundant, white-smeared breasts keeping his dick imprisoned.

Rias, moments later, sucked clean his still sensitive length, and had just sat back to begin cleaning herself off when Yuuji stopped her.

"Hang on, I just thought of something good."

Rias let out a cute little squeak of surprise as Yuuji stood to his full height without warning, his dick slapping quietly against her cheek.

With a smirk, he offered her his hand and lifted Rias to her feet, stepping aside to open up some of the space between Akeno and Rias.

Akeno tilted her head in curiosity as she unfolded her legs to stand up off the bed, but Yuuji stopped her with a hand on her leg and a slight shake of his head.

The girls were both a little confused, but Yuuji decided to push them just a little further off balance with his favorite kind of surprise attack; honesty.

"I love you both, you know? Honestly, being helpless like that scares the hell out of me, but with both of you at my side, I didn't really have time to be afraid. So thank you."

This was accompanied by one of his rare, full smiles, taking the time to meet the eyes of each of them in turn.

Akeno let out a pleased hum from her place on the bed, and Rias lifted a tender hand to his cheek, perhaps not realizing how lewd that seemed with her face and chest smeared with his semen.

Yuuji carried on before they could verbally express their feelings.

"Now that that's out of the way, I think it's your turn to be pampered a bit."

"W-well that's sweet of you b-but I think we should just focus on…"

Rias began.

Yuuji, in his shamelessly unfair manner of doing things, allowed his smile to fall, and the barest glimmer of disappointment to tinge his voice.

"You mean... I can't?"

Rias reeled as if struck, horror flickering across her face.

Akeno suppressed a giggle as Rias tried to back-track.

"I didn't mean…! That is…"

"Oh, so it's okay? Thanks Buchou, I knew I could count on you."

Among things that were dreadfully unfair, was Yuuji calling her Buchou in the bedroom.

Normally, Rias disliked being called any sort of title in a more personal setting.

But in situations like this where the affection she was shown was beyond question, however, the title seemed to carry just a hint of lewd impropriety.

On that count, having Yuuji's seed slowly oozing into her cleavage certainly didn't hurt.

Rias shut her mouth with a soft clack, and opened it right up again with a soft shriek as Yuuji pulled her _past_ him.

Right into Akeno's lap.

The girls froze in surprise to find their noses almost touching, along with being close enough to feel the heat radiating from each girls lower lips.

Then Yuuji gently but firmly guided them to lay down, leaving a flushed and naked Rias lying utop a flushed and naked Akeno.

It took a few hushed seconds before they realized that the wetness between their bodies was not only their own but Yuuji's as well as their huge breasts mashed against each other, and then Akeno zeroed in on the white stains around Rias' lips.

Yuuji grinned as Akeno's mouth dove in, pressing her lips against Rias even as she wrapped around Rias in a loving embrace.

Akeno let out a happy moan as her tongue slipped in, the saltiness of Yuuji's cum intermingling with the sweetness of Rias' mouth.

Rias whimpered as a dainty hand delicately dragged its nails down her spine, but returned the attention by reaching down to grip and knead Akeno's breasts from the side.

Yuuji's smirk widened unseen, this was going better than expected and he probably didn't _need_

To do anything at this point… but he'd been pretty lazy up until this point, and being an inactive lover offended his sensibilities.

Though, he could privately admit that being spoiled like that was a fresh, but certainly not unpleasant experience.

That being said, time to make things _fun_.

Busy as they were trying to devour each other, neither of them had any idea that he had carefully stepped in between their currently intertwined legs, and was giving Akeno's quivering slit an appraising stare.

Satisfied that she was wet and loose enough that it would be just rough enough for her to enjoy, Yuuji lined up his pulsing member.

Akeno screamed into Rias as Yuuji hilted himself inside of her in one smooth motion.

"Ahh~ Y-Yuuji, w-whaa…?"

She managed to gasp, breaking the kiss to turn lust-addled eyes towards Yuuji.

"Heads up."

Yuuji withdrew a bit and then thrust in again, quickly settling into a steady pace.

Taken in by the bewitching sight of Akeno panting and squirming beneath her, a hint of mischief flit across the gorgeous features of one Rias Gremory.

Slowly, she peeled off the arms gripping her for dear life, and firmly pinned them by the wrists on the bed, above the head of Akeno.

Akeno peered up at her in bleary confusion, made all the more obscene by the flush of her cheeks and the silver trail of drool leaking from the corner of her pale red lips.

Everything snapped into blissful, wondrous clarity when Rias' head ducked down below her own, and a mouth latched onto her neck and sucked _hard._

Akeno screamed as Rias mercilessly had her way with her, nipping and suckling her neck, her arms pinned uselessly as Yuuji slowly thrust in and out.

Steadily reduced to a limp, gasping mess, Akeno quivered helplessly beneath the attentions of both those she loved.

Ruthlessly driven to the edge, it was only a matter of time before Akeno came unwound in a blissful, screaming surge of ecstasy.

Only a matter of time, if Yuuji hadn't had other plans in mind.

Patiently, he waited until Rias took a break for air, just to be safe… ish.

Akeno let out a disappointed whimper as Yuuji's rod left her boiling core for the first time, but that disappointment vanished in a jolt of surprise as Rias went rigid, arching her back with a shriek and releasing her hands.

"Y-Yuuji! W-what are y-you- oh! Mmmm…."

Four soft limbs coiled gently, inescapably around her, and a hot breath whispered dark promise into her ear.

"My turn, Rias~"

Then Akeno nibbled on her ear, and Rias convulsed.

Akeno proceeded to return Rias' earlier attentions unopposed, reaching one hand to knead the heiress's tight ass as the other trapped Rias' head in place, ravaging her mouth with a warm tongue, that ceased its conquest only to rampage in slimy trails up and down her slender neck.

The less experienced of the three, Rias took less time to reduced to a boneless heap of heat and arousal, but Yuuji wasn't done.

Into Akeno again, kneading her butt as he did, then Rias, then back.

Chasing them both to the edge, but never quite letting any of them fall over.

Ruthlessly driving them both to the heights of pleasure, and never leaving either enough time to catch their breath.

When Yuuji decided he'd toyed with both of them enough, he moved onto the final stages of his assault.

Confused murmurs leaked out as Yuuji gently separated their lower bodies, suspending the legs of Rias slightly into the air.

Before either of them could recover, Yuuji thrust in once again, not into either of them, but in the fraction of space between their two bodies.

Swollen as they were, this allowed Yuuji's bulging rod just enough leeway to brush that sensitive little nub above both girl's slits at once.

This left _both_ girls writhing and gasping, holding tightly onto one another as Akeno pulled Rias down into one last sloppy, breathless kiss.

As the two lovely women approached the edge, Yuuji felt the needy pulse of his own arousal and with a sudden increase in pace, drove the three of them over together.

His sharp grunt as he sprayed in between the two supple, quivering bodies slipped out unheard before the screaming orgasms of Akeno and Rias, eyes rolling back in their heads as their squirting, bucking bodies convulsed again and again.

Releasing the quivering forms, Yuuji staggered back and sank heavily to the floor.

He was good, and he knew it.

Edging three people simultaneously was still hard work, but…

Worth it.

Now, he wondered if all that passionate spit-swapping they'd done had warmed them up to the idea of going a little farther _without_ him around… which had been one of the main purposes behind having a threesome for a while now.

The other purpose behind having a threesome with Akeno and Rias was…

Having a threesome with Akeno and Rias.

* * *

She blinked awake to find a sleepy looking Akeno watching her with a fond smile, as they lay side by side.

"... Why do I feel like Yuuji did all the work?"

"A fertile and over-active imagination?"

Yuuji suggested, from somewhere behind them.

Rias sat up with a groan and a bounce to find a naked Yuuji casually reclined on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

"Ara, our precious junior pretends to be obedient, but he's rather willful, isn't he?"

Akeno made it sound like a compliment, as she joined Rias sitting upright on the bed.

As they spoke to each other, their vision was naturally drawn to each other and-

 _Hot lips and wandering hands._

Yuuji watched them carefully as the pale, flawless skin of his two loves slowly began to flush in remembrance.

He concealed a smirk as, rather than avert their eyes, a pair of shy smiles blossomed, and a pair of delicate hands crept together and hesitantly intertwined.

Yuuji didn't like to gloat, but… he was feeling a little pleased with himself, right about now.

It was a nice feeling, knowing that his attempt at showing gratitude had been a rousing success.

Quietly, he sat upright, fondly watching the two beauties.

There were a lot of unanswered questions.

The final results of the peace conference and what it meant, going forward.

For Raynare and Kalawarner.

For Xenovia and Irina.

For the world as he knew it.

Which, come to think of it, he didn't know all that well, if a major terrorist organization was new information to him.

How they'd found information on Gasper, on the conference itself.

If Vali would seek revenge for the whole 'shooting him in the face' fiasco, or if he'd have to murder that blood-hungry Dragon someday.

Or, more importantly, if Rias and Akeno would be ready to cross that final line between the two of them, if he left them alone for a night.

All of that could wait, at least until tomorrow.

For now, they were all together, and they were all okay.

That was more than enough.

He still didn't have the faintest idea what 'ordinary happiness' was supposed to look like, but now…

He felt like he had a chance to find out.

* * *

 **That kind of sounds like a cliffhanger ending to a series, doesn't it? Luckily, it's just the end of an arc, short though it was. Don't really have a firm grasp on how many chapters there will be, in the end, but my ballpark is somewhere in the mid to lower-mid double digits.**

 **Busy busy chapter.**

 **Finally got to bust out Mistilteinn, which I've been planning for a long time for Yuuji to shoot Vali in his smug face with. I found out well after I'd sold myself on the idea that Mistilteinn already exists in DxD, as a generic 'famous' wand for Rossweisse. That's lame, and I like my idea for the cute lil' Norse way better, so don't expect that wand to pop up well, ever.**

 **Speaking of things I didn't like, wasn't a fan of the weird man-dragon Grendel they had going on, so now we have the warped demon man-child from the Robert Zemeckis movie instead. Totally didn't lay the ground work for that to be a recurring ugly, and for those of you who missed it, Gabriel has in fact thrown down with one of those bad boys in the past.**

 **In a fist fight, because the ditzy cock-tease of a Seraph having the ability to punch giants to death amuses the hell out of me.**

 **Also had to have fun with reminding you that Suu is the scariest girl in the household, and also got to have Grayfia shit-talking the generic mook with an important name.**

 **If you forget who that was, well, no one can blame you.**

 **I feel like my ability to cook with lemons have improved, hope you enjoyed that bonding session and Azazel being the best wing man.**

 **PS: Forgot Vali revealing his last name was supposed to be important, so I had to amend last chapter so that Yuuji is only on a first name basis.**


	19. Old Wounds and New Beginnings

**I've noticed that in-between chapters always tend to be a bit chaotic, but I suppose it makes sense.**

 **They're also the perfect place to put in little scenes that I think up which aren't necessarily important to the wider narrative.**

* * *

It had been a week since the peace conference.

Luckily, it had been a quiet few weeks in the sense that there had been no major activity from the Khaos Brigade, or any other terrorist organization.

At least in her territory, anyways, there had been nothing more than a few minor incidents with Strays, minor to the point where they were able to deal with them before any fatalities could occur.

However, that wasn't to say she hadn't been busy.

No, far from it, she and Akeno, as well Sona and her Queen, Tsubaki, had spent many a late night coordinating with her Onii-sama, Serafall, Azazel, and even Michael making arrangements and setting out terms for the first major 'test flight' of the new alliance.

Having ambassadors of the Grigori and Heaven officially stationed in Kuoh, whose significance had rose even more with it being the site of the historic treaty.

'Officially stationed' also meant they'd be enrolling at Kuoh Academy… which made things easier in that regard, since Raynare and Kalawarner were already there.

Azazel had made good on his word and 'hired' them to attend Kuoh as representatives of their people, even if it was in name only and he fully expected them to obey Yuuji over anyone else, including himself.

The 'hired' part was important, as she had taken care of the negotiations herself once the two girls had shrugged it off as unimportant.

She had ensured that they were receiving suitable compensation for their arguably nominal duties, because even if they weren't hers, they were still hers, and Rias wouldn't settle for anything less.

If they hadn't still been at peace, reducing a Cadre to tears would have been quite the accolade.

However, they were, and thus her ruthless negotiations with (ie: bullying of) Azazel's secretary Penemue would remain unsung.

For Heaven's side, Irina Shidou was the only person confirmed so far, as Heaven was a bit short-staffed in terms of Angels who could blend with human culture.

It would be another week or so before she could begin attending, as Heaven was currently putting the finishing touches on its 'Brave Saint' system, which would allow them to reincarnate the young Exorcist as an Angel.

It was based off of the Evil Piece system, so she'd heard, but using suits of cards rather than chess pieces.

So on top of her normal duties as King and guardian of Kuoh, Rias was also doing everything she could to ensure that one of the most important test flights in the history of her species went smoothly.

While maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA, and keeping up with what was arguably her most important task.

Making sure that her precious little family was sufficiently spoiled and cared for.

She felt it ironic that Raynare and Kalawarner, whose entire race had been her ancestral enemies up until a few weeks back, were the only ones she _didn't_ have any worries for at the moment.

Akeno was working herself up to finally confronting _that_ , Yuuto had had less of an appetite lately.

Asia was gradually working up her courage to become more physically affectionate with Yuuji, and Gasper was struggling to associate his new room as Someplace Safe.

Ruth's summer coat wasn't coming in well and he was frequently overheating, and Suu had been extra hungry and didn't know why.

Koneko was experiencing emotional flux due to having begun to let out her natural Ki just a little bit, and Yuuji was being even more stoic and Yuuji-like than normal!

She couldn't relax even for a second, what if one of them thought she was, Satan forbid, _angry_ with them because she wasn't paying enough attention!?

These were the things that kept her up at night, and she'd sooner chop off her own hair than point fingers at one of her beloved family.

Yet, when no one was watching Rias did have to admit that lately, she'd been just a little tired.

Thus, it couldn't be helped.

It was perfectly reasonable, she felt, that when faced with the utterly bizarre, her tired mind didn't immediately process what her tired eyes were seeing.

Thus, when she walked into Yuuji's room to retrieve a paper from the desk, she offered only an absent-minded but polite smile to Yuuji and Serafall, both sitting comfortably on the bed as she entered.

Yuuji lifted his gaze from his book long enough to offer her that slight half-smirk she was so fond of, and the Leviathan lifted her gaze from her colorful manga to offer a cheery wave.

Rias had completed her intended task, and made it halfway back across the room when she halted in place.

Slowly, she turned, blue eyes staring.

Just to be safe, she rubbed tired eyes and blinked to clear them.

Yes, they were still there.

Or, rather, _she_ was still there.

Sitting sideways on the bed and allowing her bouncing bare legs to dangle just a little bit off the edge of the bed, sat Serafall Leviathan.

Looking rather comfy, she might add.

Propped up against Yuuji's shoulder, and perusing the rambunctiously colored literature in her hands with bright-eyed enthusiasm.

Yuuji, for his part, was leaning up against the headboard as he quietly flipped through his significantly less colorful book with that attentive gaze of his.

A heartbeat later, he lifted his head and cocked an eyebrow in silent question.

Serafall too, put her book in her lap and regarded the dazedly staring girl with innocent curiosity.

"... Leviathan-sama? W-what are… I didn't expect…"

"Nope!"

Leviathan replied.

"... Nope?"

"Not official business, Ria-tan, I was actually popping by to chat with Yuuji-chan about the show, but work was super duper extra stressful today so I asked Yuuji-chan if we could just relax for a bit instead!"

"... Yuuji-chan?"

"Yu-chan makes me sound like a girl."

Yuuji pointed out in what he probably thought was a helpful tone.

"... I see. W-well then, if you'll…"

"Ah, Buchou, hold on a moment, I need your help."

Her vision snapped immediately into focus, carefully scrutinizing her beloved Pawn.

As if by some unspoken signal, Serafall slipped off Yuuji's shoulder, reclining back to stare up at him as he stared back down.

A single nod was shared, before they resumed their original positions, with one important difference.

Yuuji had put his book down, and was patting the bed to his left, unoccupied side.

"Ah… that sounds very nice but…"

"Rias Gremory, I, as Leviathan, require your immediate assistance. Will you comply?"

Serafall demanded in a regal, impassive tone of voice that left not even the slightest possibility of refusal.

Rias was already bowing her head before she even knew what she was doing.

"At once, Satan-sama…"

Serafall giggled, and the grave atmosphere vanished in a heartbeat.

She reached across Yuuji and patted the empty space beside him.

Sighing in surrender, Rias crawled onto the bed with a smile on her face.

Yuuji looped his arm around her shoulder as she wormed her way up against him, as closely as she could manage.

Dimly, she noted that Yuuji was as cozy as always, and that perhaps she was just a little more tired than she'd thought, and-

* * *

Rias was taking an awfully long time.

All she was doing was fetching a paper from the bedroom, and while normally she'd do it for her, Rias had wanted to stretch her legs a little.

Thus, Akeno had remained in the dining room, but…

It had been almost half an hour.

She knew Yuuji was up there, he'd been catching up on his reading, so perhaps Rias had gotten distracted, and now they were doing lewd things?

She should probably go join.

Mind made up, Akeno slipped gracefully from her seat and silently padded up the stairs to the third floor.

The door was just a little ajar, and it seemed awfully quiet, but…

As she peeked her head in, Akeno found that Rias was, in fact, with Yuuji.

Serafall Leviathan was there as well, but Akeno decided to put that aside for now and focus on the more important things.

They were all on the bed together, but rather than doing anything sexy, instead, they were being utterly, unbearably…

 _Adorable!_

Yuuji was leaning against the headboard, slowly flipping through the novel in his hands with a soft smile on his face.

On one side, leaning up against him with her feet dangling from the bed was Serafall, silently reading her brightly colored manga with an infectious grin and glittering eyes.

Rias was on Yuuji's other side.

-Curled up in a ball with a serene smile on her sleeping face, head resting on Yuuji's leg as his hand gently stroked her head.

Akeno took great pride in being the Queen of Rias Gremory, and thus, her duty was perfectly clear.

After checking to ensure that no flash or click would disturb her slumbering King, Akeno took several pictures on her phone, carefully finding the optimal angle to capture Rias in all her adorable glory.

Serafall, with a sunny smile on her face, pulled out her own phone and gave it a meaningful tap, and Akeno responded by adding her to the sending list.

Such wondrous sights were meant to be preserved for eternity, and shared with any relevant parties, after all.

Giggling silently, Akeno retrieved the document Rias had intended to find, and departed the room with a playful wink.

Wondering all the while how she could get away with framing the picture in their room.

* * *

"Michael? … Strange for you to call at a time like this, whaddya need?"

["I need to speak with you, Brother. Sooner rather than later, please."]

"... I'm free now. I'm in my office, the official one anyways, but where do you want to meet?"

["Is it secure? I'm well aware of your cautious nature, Azazel, but it is important that this does not spread."]

"... That good, huh? Yeah, nothing leaves my office unless I want it to, so your secrets are safe with me. Wards'll make an exception for you."

"Pardon me, then."

Michael said, slipping out of a muted portal of gold that opened in the wall.

Azazel met his gaze with an easy smirk, even as he grimaced internally.

The de facto leader of Heaven looked tired.

Tired, with that familiar edge of remorse.

The look had never suited the Seraph, even if he had worn it all too often since their Father's passing.

"... So, what went wrong? If I've got the dates right, you all should be celebrating that Shidou brat's reincarnation right about now."

"Irina is precisely why I am here."

Michael sighed.

"She was successfully reincarnated, and has joined Heaven's host as my second Brave Saint, my Ace."

"So where's the bad news come in?"

"Hyoudou Issei."

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"A potential wielder of a powerful Draconic Sacred Gear, possibly even the Boosted Gear, though we have no way to tell."

Azazel's eyes narrowed.

"Draconic? If he is the Red Dragon, then what rock has he been hiding under? I've had my people searching for the next Sekiryuutei for decades."

Michael closed his eyes with a bitter smile on his face.

"That 'rock' you're referring to is more commonly known as a 'headstone'. All we were able to surmise is that he had a dormant Sacred Gear that carried enough of a Dragon's 'scent' to lure a Stray Devil straight to his front door."

"... How much past tense are we talking here?"

"Almost a decade."

"And how does your Brave Saint fit into this?"

He had his theories of course, but better to hear it from the source.

Michael's sad, tired eyes opened once more, those soulful greens displaying not even the faintest hint of their usual luster.

"The answer is simple, Brother, all we know of Hyoudou Issei are the memories Raphael locked away, centred around the Stray's attack."

"... She was there, wasn't she?"

"Indeed, the Shidou and Hyoudou families were close enough to be practically family themselves. While the Hyoudou family still walked this earth, young Irina would often stay with them in Kuoh whenever her parent's duties as Exorcists pulled them from home."

Michael began.

"Thus, her and Issei were playing in the Hyoudou family yard when the Stray came sniffing."

"Only survivor?"

It wasn't really a question.

"Though that in itself was a close call, and she bares the scars to this day."

"And it was bad enough to have Raphael seal her memories? Thought you folks hated doing things like that."

"We do, but to save a soul? In a heartbeat."

For all his feelings of inadequacy towards the task, Michael was the leader of Heaven for a reason.

When the situation called for immediate action, he would _never_ hesitate.

"The Brave Saint system still has its flaws… it can judge the purity of heart to determine suitability, but we have no way of determining how _fragile_ that purity may be."

This time, the bitter sigh came from Azazel.

"How close was she to Falling?"

"Those feathers of hers were flickering like smoke."

Azazel grimaced, but went silent, thinking.

"... Stop me if I'm wrong. The reincarnation 'healed' the gaps in her memory, dragging a decades worth of repressed trauma into the light all at once?"

"It is painful to admit, but 'immediate incapacitation' was the only thing that kept her from joining your ranks."

Michael's smile was apologetic, but Azazel waved it away, knowing no harm was meant.

"Yeah, I doubt there's a believer alive who could recover from being Reincarnated as an Angel by Michael himself, and then Falling From Grace in the same day."

"... That was our thought as well. She currently remains in stasis, but Raphael was confident that any significant memory of Hyoudou Issei will trigger another breakdown, and Irina, it seems, has a wellspring of Wrath to accompany her fragile psyche."

"There was a reason that Wrath was the biggest cause of the Fall, during the War."

"Indeed, and if left unchecked, it will destroy her."

"And there's no way to let all that negativity out without sending her to my side, is there? Not with how finicky the System is."

"If there is, the greatest minds of Heaven have not found it."

"I'll get Shem looking in on it as well… even if you don't want knowledge spreading, might need to bring Ajuka into it too."

"Truthfully I'd rather not get any more people involved, but my misgivings have no place here if it will help young Irina. I suppose that is one of the reasons I came to you, after all, to hear those words I did not wish to hear, but needed to nonetheless."

The Seraph allowed himself a tiny, teasing smile at the end.

"Yep, that's what the prodigal son is for, ain't he? Oh, I have business in Kuoh, want me to pass things on to the Gremory brat and the Durandal girl?"

For what felt like the first time in ages, Azazel allowed himself a smirk.

"I would appreciate that… and thank you, Brother."

Some of the weight seemed to fall from Michael's shoulders, standing tall once more.

"So, want me to keep an eye on her while I'm at it?"

Michael blinked.

"Come again?"

"What, is she not taking Chemistry?"

"... How much of your presence in Kuoh is work-related, and how much of it is you being yourself?"

Azazel stroked his goatee thoughtfully, giving the question his full attention before he answered.

"Yes."

Azazel belonged to a tiny, elite circle of individuals who had heard the leader of Heaven groan like a resigned older brother.

Being himself, Azazel immediately snickered.

"... Hmm, I seem to recall that the Law teacher there has been looking to retire."

Michael mused, the picture of innocent contemplation.

Azazel froze in place of what was definitely not a tiny smirk, as Seraphs did not smirk.

"Uriel has been rather curious about modern schooling, and Heaven _is_ a bit under-represented in Kuoh, as things stand."

"You're going to let the Flame of God teach highschoolers? … I'm supposed to be the wicked one."

"Uriel has his quirks, but he would be an excellent teacher, I'm sure."

Michael suggested with an unassuming, guileless smile.

"Yeah, and he'd spawn an entire generation of lawmakers convinced of the beneficial qualities of trial by _literal_ fire, and that attending an execution is no reason to stop smiling."

"Like I said, quirks."

Azazel stared at Michael.

Michael stared back.

One of them began chuckling, and that set off the other.

Azazel thought this was much better, because at last, the light was back in Michael's eyes.

"But yes, I would be deeply grateful if you would keep an eye on Irina."

"Yeah, yeah… leave it to me, Brother."

* * *

"Good work today, let's take a little break and then walk back."

"N-no… you don't have to… I can keep running."

"Ah, no, don't misunderstand. We're not shortening the run anything, I put in some detours."

Come to think of it, she had noticed that the usual route had changed a bit.

"Then…?"

"Oh, that's simple."

"Eep!"

Yuuji had just reached out and took her hand in his own, looking down at her with a slight smirk.

"Thought it might be nice to enjoy the trip home. We have time."

…

…

"No good?"

The way Asia's tightening grip was accompanied by a blooming smile suggested that it was, in fact, good.

Sure, walking hand in hand through a public park while wearing slightly sweaty tracksuits didn't _sound_ like the most romantic of activities, but it was the feeling that counted.

That they'd taken all of ten steps before the pretty blonde at his side started humming was further evidence that he'd done something right.

Compared to how it had went with Akeno and Rias, the relationship with Asia was moving at a far slower pace.

But that was-

"Y-Yuuji-san."

Asia said quietly, not quite meeting his gaze.

"Yeah, Asia?"

"W-well, I know we're a little… you know… b-but we're alone right n-now s-so m-maybe…?"

"Sure."

"R-really!?"

The exclamation brought her sparkling emerald eyes swinging up to meet his own.

Like hell he had it in him to say no to a face like that.

With his free hand, Yuuji gently took hold of Asia's chin and brought his lips down to hers.

Asia released his hand and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer as she mashed her lips against his.

After a moment, Asia released his head and took his hand once more, gently pulling Yuuji along.

… With one hand to her cheek, and a radiant smile on her face.

"Ehehe~"

Honestly, Yuuji had never really imagined that he'd end up in a relationship so _innocent_.

He wouldn't deny that he was enjoying the change of pace.

Especially given that...

* * *

"... So why did you pull me into a broom closet?"

"Well… I just wanted a little private time, just the two of us."

Came the breathy whisper in response.

"It's almost like we're having an affair."

"Mmm… well, I always used to think being a mistress would be kind of hot~"

"Well, I guess you got your wish, now didn't you?"

"Huh? What do you- mmmph!?"

Her eyes went wide with shock as his mouth claimed her own, forcing her back against the wall.

Her squeak of protest turned into a muffled moan as a knee pressed up between her legs, lifting her onto her toes.

The soft smack of two pairs of lips greedily intertwining, and cloth rustling against cloth filled the dim, cramped room, slowly heating as desire collided with desire.

A particularly loud moan of pleasure led to him breaking the kiss, a trail of saliva glinting silver in the gloom.

"Careful now… what do you think _he'd_ say if he saw you here, embracing another man so willingly?"

As he spoke, he let his lips trail lower, carefully tracing the line of a pale, slender neck.

"I-I'm not… not… mm! T-this is all y-you… I don't~"

"Oh, not enjoying this? Then... why am I the only one being held?"

"Ah! T-that is!"

"Shh… we both know what the reason is… don't lie to yourself."

"No… I…"

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't _want._ Let's just stop here then, and pretend this never happened."

"B-but!"

The girl gasped, struggling to keep her voice down even as a sliver of panic coursed through her.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"... want it."

"I don't understand? You'll have to be more clear."

"I… I want it… please… d-don't let go."

"Is that what you want? Hmm… I wonder if you'll be able to look him in the eye after you've had my hands all over you?"

"D-don't care… please… m-make me feel good."

"As. You. Wish."

Desperately, she clamped her hands over her mouth as hands began to roam and teeth nibbled gently against her throat.

All the while, that knee between her legs began to put more and more pressure on a part of her that was getting damper and damper.

It was like he knew each and every one of her weak points, knew her own body better than she herself did.

It was too late to back out now.

She was burning, approaching the edge and passing the point of no return.

Willingly.

As she felt herself slowly coming unwound, she marshalled what little willpower she had left to whisper into the air.

"Ah… Yuuji-kun… forgive me, but it's t-too…"

All movement ceased.

"... H-huh?"

Through the haze of lust, her gaze fell upon a pair of dark eyes staring blankly at her.

"... Are you hiding from me so you can have an affair with me?"

Caught, Akeno averted her eyes and puffed out her cheeks.

"Shut up… don't want any other man to touch me like Yuuji touches me."

Yuuji nodded in understanding.

"Well we tried, anyways. Not very good at this whole 'roleplay' thing, anyways."

Akeno pulled him in closer, not having released him once since they'd slipped into the closet.

"Thank you for trying, though… now, I think it's about time I showed a little appreciation."

"Sounds great, but… we should probably head to class soon."

"Ara ara, I'm sure we can get away with it, just this once~"

Yuuji shook his head firmly.

"Sensei will know. Sensei always knows."

"Indeed you are correct, Kazami- _san_."

Kalawarner confirmed, swinging open the closet door with a smile on her face.

Yuuji met her eyes for a long moment, before turning his head back to Akeno, who still had her arms around his neck and a leg wrapped around his hip.

"Akeno."

"Yes, Yuuji?"

"We're in trouble."

"Indeed we are."

With a smile, Kalawarner cracked her knuckles.

* * *

Hmm?

This was a bit early for a wake-up, wasn't it?

"Grayfia? What's going on?"

"Ah, pardon me, Sirzech-sama… but no, Onee-"

The pink-haired maid coughed, correcting herself as if nothing had happened.

"Grayfia-san is still within her room. She asked me to inform you that she's under the weather, and regrets that she'll have to ask to be excused from her duties for the day."

"... Grayfia's sick?"

Sirzechs rose to a seated position with a soft frown.

The young maid smiled.

"Grayfia-san is currently experiencing something that I am not to talk about under any circumstances, so I can't say anything, I'm afraid. But, that thing I can't tell you about sounds rather painful, so if someone who knew what she was talking about were to go see her, it might put Grayfia-san at ease."

Sirzechs blinked once as the maid finished her spiel with a polite smile.

"... I see. Something came up, so you're excused for the morning."

"Understood."

"Thank you for coming to get me."

"You're welcome, Sirzechs-sama."

The maid said with a smile, before departing.

Sirzechs rose from bed and began to put his clothes on.

"This again after so long, huh Fia? … Dammit, I was hoping we were past this."

This time, when the door swung open and then shut, it did so missing a section about the size of a man's hand.

As Sirzechs stalked down the hallway, little flecks of ash trailed from a clenched fist.

* * *

The door handle was chilled, as if the other side opened to a walk-in freezer and not a bedroom.

"... Grayfia?"

He waited barely a second before swinging open the door.

"I'm coming in."

As he'd expected, Grayfia's bed was empty.

Where she might have gone wasn't hard to imagine, as frost billowed from the ensuite bathroom door left ajar.

Quietly, Sirzechs closed the bedroom door and made his way across the room.

A muted thud turned his quiet tread into a soaring flash of black and crimson, and brought him into the bathroom in a heartbeat.

Amidst the frost and rime coating almost every inch of the bathroom, Grayfia Lucifuge limply curled on her side, coughing and shivering as a trickle of half-frozen water oozed from the corner of her lips.

The toilet bowl had overflowed, clogged with slush and ice that would not melt with the room's chill.

"Hurts… ah it hurts…"

Grayfia whimpered weakly.

Another convulsion hit as the Gremory maid clutched at her stomach, but he was there, then, pulling her upright and into his arms, rubbing circles on her back as he helped her lean over the tub.

Grayfia jerked once before retching loudly, another wave of frost billowing off her shaking form as a flood of half-frozen water and small chunks of ice poured from her mouth.

No blood, this time… small mercy.

"I'm here, Fia… easy now."

Her hair was unbound, this early in the morning, so he gathered it up with one hand to keep it out of the way.

Grayfia half turned, bleary red eyes searching for him, but another bout of nausea cut that action short.

Sirzechs took a deep, quiet breath as the curse ran its course, gritting his teeth at the silvery, half frozen trails that streaked Grayfia's face.

One last harsh retch sent one last deluge of half frozen slush and ice from the Gremory maid's lips.

Grayfia coughed a few more times and then sagged, gasping weakly and shivering from the cold.

Keeping his expression neutral, Sirzechs directed her to sit back, but rather than do that, Grayfia twisted and dove against him, weakly gripping onto his shirt as she trembled.

With a soft sigh, Sirzechs wrapped his other arm around the cold, frail body pressed against him.

"Hurts…"

Came the quiet whimper.

"Why won't it… ugh…"

"Shh, it's alright, you're past the worst of it."

Sirzechs whispered softly, patting her back comfortingly as some of the warmth returned.

"... It's been a long time since this has happened…"

Grayfia managed to gasp weakly.

"I'd almost forgotten how painful it could be…"

"It's been years since this happened, fortunately… will we need to speak to the family doctor once more?"

"Mm… rather not, if we can avoid it. I don't wish to... trouble anyone, and I'm still hoping it's a once-off."

"I would prefer it if it were a freak occurrence and the cycle wasn't beginning anew, but… curses are rarely so forgiving."

"... I know… just… please… not right now…"

"Alright."

With a slight shift, Sirzechs rose from the still frozen floor, scooping up the shivering Grayfia as he did so.

It was rather telling that, rather than her usual protests, Grayfia just wormed in closer against him.

Carefully, Sirzechs crossed the room and to the bed, gently depositing the shaking bundle in his arms and untangling the covers to tuck her in.

"Do you need anything, or should I leave you to sleep?"

He asked quietly, kneeling beside the bed.

A trembling hand slipped from the covers, weakly reaching out towards him.

"F-forgive me… b-but could you stay with me? … I'm… it's cold… s-so cold…"

"Okay, Fia. As long as you need."

Azazel and Michael would understand if they postponed, he was sure.

Slowly, and with great effort, Grayfia inched her body away from his, without releasing his hand.

Unfocussed red eyes settled pleadingly in his direction.

A tender smile on his lips, Sirzechs flipped the blankets aside once more, and laid down beside his maid before covering the both of them.

Grayfia immediately snuggled up against him as he wrapped an arm around her, the shivering at last seeming to die down.

"S-sorry… I'm… s-so…"

The usual apologies died away as the exhausted woman slipped once more into unconsciousness.

Shifting his grip to hold her more tightly against her, Sirzechs let out a soft sigh, staring up at the ceiling.

After the shivering finally died down completely, and Grayfia's breathing returned to normal, the carefully neutral mask slipped from Lucifer's face.

Azure eyes blazed their fury, and the thin beam of sunlight through the curtains seemed to falter and flicker as the air dyed itself crimson.

Far colder than the curse Grayfia suffered from, a harsh, crackling whisper broke the silence.

" _ **You bitch… if I'd known you would have made her suffer for this long… I wouldn't have let your death be nearly so quick."**_

* * *

"Yuuji, hug."

A bit puzzled by the childish tone of the request, Yuuji nonetheless opened his arms for Akeno to embrace him.

Leaning over him as he sat on the bed, Akeno wrapped her arms around him and nestled her head against his chest.

"Not that I don't mind, but… what brought this on?"

"Gathering courage. Yuuji-kun makes me feel braver."

"Glad to be of help."

As he said that, he shifted one hand to rest on top of Akeno's head, gently rubbing it as the beauty gave a pleased hum.

"Oh… I get it. This is one of those times where you say something in order to get me to ask questions about it."

Akeno's arms gave a slight squeeze.

Rolling his eyes, Yuuji asked.

"Courage for what, Akeno?"

"Telling them."

"Telling who?"

"Ray and Kala."

"Oh, about you being half-Fallen?"

Akeno stiffened.

"... Yes…"

"I think they'll appreciate you trusting them, but is there a specific reason you want to do it now?"

"Rias wants to hold a training camp over summer vacation… I think I'm ready to m-maybe... learn to use the rest of my powers…"

"Ah, that makes sense. While Ray isn't obvious about it, they're both pretty good teachers."

"Mm."

"So you're going to talk to them tomorrow?"

"... Try to, anyways."

"Want me to be there?"

"... No… I really appreciate the thought, but I need to do this on my own."

"That's fine then… huh, kinda looking forward to this, actually."

Akeno's head jerked up to stare at him in confusion.

"Looking forward to what?"

"Finding out if the color of your Light is golden like your lightning... or if it matches your eyes."

Akeno's bright smile immediately caused one of his own to tug at his lips.

He'd been smiling more often lately, hadn't he?

… Guess he was doing something right.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Akeno?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine… thank you, Rias."

"Okay then… I'll wait out front with Yuuji."

Giving her a quick hug of reassurance, Rias split off from Akeno, heading further downstairs as Akeno stepped off the landing, and onto the floor containing the second year classrooms.

With a deep breath, Akeno made her way to a classroom with its door ajar.

There waited Raynare and Kalawarner, sitting on top of a pair of desks and chatting quietly with each other.

They went silent as she knocked on the door, welcoming smiles on their faces as they beckoned her in.

"Pardon me."

Akeno said, sliding the door shut behind her as she entered.

The two Fallen shared concerned looks as rather than speak, Akeno leaned against the door, fidgeting and refusing to meet their gazes.

"... Akeno-san? Take a deep breath… whatever it is you wish to speak of… take all the time you need."

Kalawarner called out softly.

"Yeah, we're all friends here Senpai, so relax a little K?"

One violet eye peered at them as Akeno continued to squirm.

Scary!

This was really scary, she didn't want to do this, where was Yuuji, where was Rias, this was scary!

Akeno tried to speak, but the words came out as an unintelligible stammer.

Slowly, Kalawarner rose from her seat, moving carefully…

Akeno shut her eyes as tightly as she could, pushed off the door, and flared her wings.

Her real wings, baring her feathers to the duo for the first time.

Raynare and Kalawarner stopped in their tracks as Akeno cowered there, refusing to open her eyes.

Sure _Yuuji_ liked her feathers… but Yuuji liked all the nasty parts of her!

What if her feathers were hideous, compared to the other Fallen!?

Scary, this was scary-

Trying not to giggle, Kalawarner made the necessary preparations with a sigil on the ceiling, and braced for the eruption soon to come.

Akeno finally gathered the courage to crack one eye open and peer over towards the silent Fallen, and that's when the younger of the two, practically vibrating in her seat, could remain silent no longer.

"YOUR FEATHERS ARE SO PRETTY!"

* * *

Her ears hurt.

Must have popped something, because she definitely didn't hear that right.

"... Huh? W-what did you-"

Raynare's excited face was inches from her own.

Akeno shrieked and jumped back as Raynare waved her arms around excitedly.

"Your feathers are so pretty! They look so soft, that's amazing! Kala can you see her feathers!?"

"Awa.. wha..what?"

Akeno stammered.

"Indeed I can, Raynare. It should come as no surprise that Akeno-san would have lovely wings, and she certainly has the complexion to bring them out to best effect."

"Right!? Akeno-chan is super duper pretty of course it works for her!"

"W-w-wha….?"

Raynare turned back to Akeno with a curious expression.

A light of understanding dawned there, and Raynare nodded firmly.

"Yep, kinda expected that."

As Kalawarner made her way over, Raynare opened her arms wide and wrapped Akeno up in a big hug.

"It's okay now… you did good, okay?"

Kalawarner had just reached them when the sniffles began, and as her arms encircled the two shorter women, those sniffles turned into tearful wails.

"There, there… thank you for trusting us, Akeno."

* * *

Akeno let out one last sniffle, wiping a hand over her eyes.

They'd wound up sitting on the floor, Raynare and Kalawarner holding her gently as her tears ran their course.

"S-sorry… I was just…"

"No need to apologize, Akeno-san. It must have taken a lot of courage for you to do this."

As she spoke, Kalawarner gestured to Akeno's mismatched, limply hanging wings with one hand.

"Yeah… it's something I've spent most of my life trying to hide, so…"

She froze, going pale as she realized the implications of her words.

"N-not that… I don't… I didn't mean…"

Raynare shook her head with a smile.

"Nuh-uh, don't worry about it. You hid them for a reason, and if it means you have a problem with Fallen Angels, well, you never once took it out on us, did you?"

"Raynare is right, you have been nothing but kind to us. If you do not wish to reveal those reasons, we won't pry."

"... Thank you… it's just… bad memories… w-well… y-y-y-you see, my father is… Baraquiel."

She blinked in shock as both of them gave nods of understanding.

"We already had some idea, now that we know of your nature."

Akeno jerked back in surprise.

"Y-you already know? H-how?"

"You're already famous for your lightning, even at your young age. If we consider that your Affinity may be inherited, then there is only one name that comes to mind."

Akeno sat back with a sigh.

"D-did you… ever get the chance to meet him?"

Kalawarner turned her gaze to Raynare, who shook her head.

"I've only seen him from afar… we Fallen do not often have a chance to mingle with our leaders."

"Oh…"

"Forgive me, I wish I could offer more."

"No… that's alright."

Akeno fidgeted for a moment, cheeks reddening as she looked shyly over to Raynare.

"D-did you really mean it?"

Raynare tilted her head.

"A-are my feathers really… y-you know?"

"Pretty?"

Akeno nodded mutely.

"Yep! They're super glossy but they look super soft! If you haven't yet, you should get Yuuji-kun to brush them! It'll feel super amazing!"

Akeno went even more red, and the Fallen grinned.

"Ah, I do believe she's already aware."

Raynare giggled.

While Akeno squirmed, Kalawarner's expression grew thoughtful.

"Akeno-san, while we certainly appreciate your trust in us, was there something you wished to ask of us, regarding your heritage?"

Akeno went still, before she took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'm…"

Another deep breath as the Fallen watched her patiently.

"I'm done trying to hide my heritage. I might not be ready to face _him_ yet… but I don't want to run from who I am anymore."

Akeno shifted her seating once more, transitioning into a low bow.

"I want to learn to use my Light… will you… will you please teach me?"

Raynare and Kalawarner smiled to each other, and reached out to put a hand on either of her shoulders.

"We'd be honored."

Akeno lifted her head and smiled back.

Kalawarner tapped a finger to her chin, a moment later.

"Akeno-san, forgive me if this is sensitive, but… has it always been just one of your wings that bore feathers, since your Reincarnation?"

Akeno winced, her wings folding against her as to hide.

"Y-yes… from the beginning."

"Hmm, I believe I know why that is, then."

Akeno jolted in surprise.

"Y-you do!?"

Kalawarner gave a slow nod.

"If I'm correct, you should have full control over what kind of wings appear, once you have some modicum of control over your Fallen side."

Raynare perked up.

"Oh! I get it! Yep, that makes sense!"

To her, anyways, as Akeno only seemed more lost.

"Yes, I do believe that the mismatch is simply a sign of your Fallen side attempting to assert its own existence."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

In perfect harmony, a pair of bewitching smiles curled the lips of the Fallen.

"We Fallen have Rebellion flowing through our veins, and thus, just like we ourselves, our power can be, at times…"

Kalawarner leaned in close, her breathy whisper against her ear sending shivers up Akeno's spine.

"Just a little _naughty_."

* * *

"... Huh, I might need a break."

Yuuji said as he awoke, staring up at the ceiling.

Rias was awake too, it seemed, because the abrupt declaration was met with her immediately trying to take the blame.

"I-is is something I did!? We're not… you're not getting… tired of us are you!? Am I smothering you!? I don't mean to, honest!"

"Rias."

"... Yes?"

His King's shriek was muffled by the hand he placed over her mouth, as Yuuji spun in bed, gracefully rotating to straddle the shocked Rias.

Chests pressing together, Yuuji remained still, head turned to the side, watching, waiting…

The sleeping Akeno mumbled something unintelligible and nestled deeper under the covers.

Slowly, Yuuji turned his head back to the blushing girl pinned beneath him, and removed his hand from her mouth.

"Y-Yuuji? Wha-"

Only to replace that hand with _his_ mouth.

Rias moaned and squirmed against him as Yuuji kissed her fiercely, and when she tried to lift up her hands to embrace him, pinned her by the wrists.

This continued until Yuuji decided he should let Rias breath, and withdrew his mouth, dragging her tongue with his lips and chuckling as it lolled to one side.

Yuuji sat back on Rias' hips, gazing blankly down at her as she gasped beneath him.

"Anyways, as I was saying, no, it doesn't have anything to do with you. As per the norm, you, and Akeno, and the others are too good for me. I just get a little restless sometimes when the weather starts to warm, that's all."

Yuuji explained, as if he hadn't nearly kissed Rias unconscious.

"You can ask JB if you'd like, this happens every year."

"So then... are you planning to…?"

"Leave? Yep. Though, not alone, I actually have an idea."

"... And that is?"

"Yep, I've heard stories about it so I thought I'd give it a shot."

Rias remained silent, staring up at him impatiently.

Yuuji lifted his hands to make quotations with his fingers.

"'Male bonding'."

"... What?"

Yuuji nodded.

"Yeah, going to drag out Kiba and Ruth, maybe Gasper if he's feeling up to the outdoors, Saturday night and we're going to go try it out."

"Outdoors? Why outdoors?"

"Guy stuff."

"How specific."

"The book I read told me I'm supposed to answer that whenever a woman asks."

"... Book?"

"It's not like I know how this is supposed to work. Almost half of the male friends I've made in my entire life live in this dorm."

"... Okay then… just… don't do anything reckless, please."

"Sure."

"And don't be late for school on Monday."

"Yes Mom."

"Wha-!? What did you just call me!?"

Yuuji, wisely perhaps, decided to deflect the question, rather than answer it.

As his deflection involved more kissing, Rias decided she'd let it go, for now anyways.

Akeno, who'd awoken some minutes prior, clamped both hands over her mouth to hide her giggles.

* * *

He didn't like to bring attention to it for risk of sounding arrogant, but the Saturday nights of one Kiba Yuuto were in high demand.

Thus, it wasn't really surprising when his phone buzzed, less than an hour after dinner.

It was, however, a little surprising as to the source.

 _Y: Pack an overnight bag and meet me out front._

… Huh.

Not really sure how to take that, but he was free, after all.

It took him only a few minutes to pack, make his way to the front door, and slip on his shoes.

What awaited him was a glossy black sports car, and-

"Get in the car."

"Sure… why am I getting in the car?"

"We're doing the thing, put your seat-belt on."

The minute he did so, Yuuji stepped on the gas.

"The thing? Oh, hang on, Buchou just texted… I don't know what to tell her, since, you know…"

Yuuji nodded at the unspoken prompt.

"Just text her back 'guy stuff'."

"Guy stuff?"

"It's tradition."

"... I see."

He didn't actually, but Kiba liked to think he could be a good sport.

"Oh actually, you should tell her not to come looking for us under any circumstances… wait, that kind of sounds like we're going Stray. Tell her 'see you on Monday'?"

"... Will we?"

"You worry too much."

"You have to admit this is a little weird…"

Kiba trailed off as he caught a glimpse of the rearview mirror, and the back seat.

"Oh hello Ruth, didn't see you there. Are you in human form so-?"

The car shrieked around a corner at speeds humans would struggle to perceive.

"So that I can wear a seatbelt? Yes, yes I am."

"Fair enough… so, Yuuji-kun, where are we going?"

"The woods."

"The woods? What are we doing out there? Is this another Stray hunt?"

"Nope, we're trying this thing I heard of."

"Which is?"

Kiba asked politely.

"Male bonding, or 'guy time' as its known in some circles."

That Yuuji took both hands off the steering wheel to make air quotes caused the hearts of his passengers to skip several beats.

It was then that Kiba resolved himself not to look at that steering wheel for the rest of the drive.

Seemed like the wise choice.

… Male bonding, huh?

Sounded kind of nice, it wasn't like he'd had the chance to try before, since all of his male friends except one were in this car.

For some strange reason, he hadn't been able to make any more after his original batch were murdered.

… He decided he'd blame the morbid train of thought on Yuuji's driving.

"... So, did Gasper not want to join us?"

Distractions from Yuuji's driving seemed to be of great value.

"No, wide open sky is still a bit of a hurdle for him. Promised to bring him along next time though."

Kiba hoped there would be a next time.

Well, mostly he hoped there would be a first time, and that they didn't end up in a traffic accident at what was probably terminal velocity.

"Come to think of it, what are we doing when we get there?"

"Skeet shooting is a classic, apparently, so I thought I'd teach you to fire a gun. But, since we're Devils, we might as well break some rules, so I'll show you how to shoot guns that aren't even legal in Japan. Oh, and you can teach me the trick behind throwing those swords of yours"

"Huh, that does sound kind of fun. Wait, you didn't mention Ruth there."

"I'm a dog, and there are no squirrels in Kuoh."

Kiba wasn't quite sure what he thought about the dignified tone used there.

* * *

"... You're pacing again, stop it. Or at least take your clothes off so I can enjoy the show."

"I'm just worried Akeno. What if they get hurt? Who knows what kind of crazy things they could be doing out there?"

"I'm sure they aren't doing anything too irresponsible…"

"That pause worries me."

* * *

"Lean into the gun a little more. You probably won't feel the kick as a Devil, but let's not start any bad habits."

"Like this?"

"Better. Ready?"

"... Pull."

 _ **BOOM!**_

* * *

"... I'm worried now too."

"Right!? You know they behave better when we're watching!"

"Well, at least Ruth is there?"

* * *

"Come to think of it, this is the first time I've actually held a weapon without someone else's arm attached. What did you call this one again?"

"M1 Garand. You're old, so I thought you'd appreciate a classic."

"... You're not wrong."

"Alright Ruth, you're aiming for the closer can to start, alright?"

* * *

"... Do you think they'd get mad at us if we went and checked on them?"

"Only if we got caught, which we would since Yuuji _and_ Ruth are there."

"Well, maybe we could just call?"

"Yuuji told us not to unless it was an emergency."

"... He was prepared for this exact conversation, wasn't he?"

"Also, he said that if we interfered we'd be sleeping in our own beds for a month."

"... I-I'm sure they're fine, right Akeno?"

* * *

They were not fine.

"Hang on a second."

Kiba lowered the rifle in his hands, slipped his finger from the trigger, and flipped the safety.

Yuuji hadn't let any guns be fired until everyone involved knew how to handle them correctly.

"Yes, Yuuji-kun?"

"This is fun and all, but doesn't this kind of feel like a normal training session, just with less people getting thrown into the dirt?"

Kiba blinked.

"... It kind of does, doesn't it?"

"Hmm, what to do, what to do?"

Yuuji snapped his fingers.

"Oh, that's it. Thanks, Danny. Hang on you two, I'm gonna make a call."

Yuuji said, stepping off into the brush.

Kiba waved him off, looking a bit puzzled.

"I wonder who Danny is?"

{"Friend of his from the Marines. All I know is that he passed away a few years back, and before he enlisted was a car thief from America."}

"... Hmm, I wonder what about him has Yuuji-kun so inspired… and who he's calling if it isn't Danny."

Moments later, Yuuji calmly strolled from the bush, and-

A gleaming magic circle flared to life on the ground, revealing a tall figure, leaning up against a stack of clinking crates and laughing heartily.

Kiba slowly turned his head towards Yuuji, who met his disbelieving gaze with one of innocent curiosity.

"Yuuji-kun."

"Yeah?"

"Did you just call Azazel?"

"To bring us alcohol, yeah. Danny always told me it made any guy's night out better."

Azazel laughed again, pulling a bottle of sake from the rib height stack of crates.

"Haha I can't believe you'd call the leader of the Grigori to fence you liquor! Never change kid, never change!"

"I'm not legal age, and it's faster than getting a fake ID made."

Yuuji pointed out in what he probably thought was a helpful tone.

Kiba just stared, so Yuuji continued on.

"Wired the money and asked for the delivery to be advance payment for his next request, if you're wondering."

Azazel chimed in with a smirk.

"I ended up paying for everything though, on the condition that I get to join in. Way too interesting to miss haha!"

"... Buchou can never find out about this."

Kiba said with a resigned sigh.

Ruth was the one to answer.

"Hang on, I think I remember what we're supposed to say here."

Yuuji and Ruth shared a nod and answered in sync.

""What happens in the forest, stays in the forest.""

Several hours away and for no reason she could discern, Rias shivered.

In an unremarkable forest in rural Japan, the cheerful, wicked laughter of a Fallen Angel filled the night.

* * *

"I'm Shidou Irina, nice to meet you everyone!"

With a polite bow and a friendly grin, a young woman stood at the front of the class to introduce herself.

Chestnut hair in long twintails tied up with blue scrunchies, the Kuoh Academy uniform with her own personal touches of black bike shorts under the skirt, and blue sneakers.

"Hmm, why did I transfer? Welp, my parents and I just moved back actually, I was born here, so thanks for the welcome home!"

With a cheerful wink of her violet eyes, Irina finished her introduction and bounced and twirled her way to one of the few empty seats.

When she did, she stopped in place, casting a furtive glance down to the girl sitting beside her, before directing a questioning gaze towards her teacher.

With a soft smile on her face, Kalawarner calmly averted her gaze.

Giggling, Irina exploded into motion, pouncing on her hapless classmate with all the grace and precision of a trained Exorcist.

"I MISSED YOU XEN-CHAN!"

With a quiet chuckle, Xenovia returned the embrace, rolling her eyes as Irina's cheek rubbed against her own.

This continued for a minute or so before Kalawarner's pointed cough caught her attention, and Irina released her friend and bounced up to her full height with a triumphant smile.

"Recharge complete!"

With a final giggle, and a wave to Raynare and Asia, Irina flounced into her seat.

From his spot by the window, Yuuji watched her curiously.

… Was it just him, or would she and Levia-tan really, really get along?

* * *

"Taadaa!"

A few stray feathers flickered into the air as Irina unfurled her wings with a with fingers raised in the victory sign.

"Shidou Irina, Ace of the Great Seraph Michael and newly reincarnated Brave Saint at your service!"

Politely, the members of the ORC applauded for the grinning Angel.

"Welcome aboard Irina, your things have been already sent to the dorm. I trust you have no issue taking the room next to Xenovia?"

Rias asked from where she sat at her desk.

"Nope, that's just great! I'm probably gonna sneak into Xen-chan's room to cuddle anyways, so this saves time!"

Rias nodded wisely, as if that had been part of the plan in the first place.

Which it had.

"Oh right, I forgot!"

Irina exclaimed suddenly, before twirling around to wag a finger at Xenovia and Asia.

"Bet you too are a little behind, but don't worry, I'll help you catch up!"

Asia gave a cute little tilt of her head, blinking bright green eyes in confusion.

"... Behind?"

"Yep! When was the last time you girls said your prayers, Michael didn't fix the system so you could pray for nothing!"

Dead silence.

"Oh right, you two didn't know that because I asked Michael if I could be the one to say it."

Irina muttered, innocently tapping a finger to her chin as if it was someone else's problem.

"You probably should have led with that."

Xenovia pointed out.

"Teehee~"

Irina knocked a fist against the side of her own head and stuck out her tongue.

"... Pray… we can…?"

Asia asked slowly.

"Yep!"

"O-oh… that… that is…"

When her words failed, Asia merely knit her hands together in front of her chest and closed her eyes, dipping her head.

After a moment, Xenovia blinked out of her daze and joined in, shuffling a bit closer in her seat.

A tender smile on her face, Irina quietly maneuvered herself behind the two, framing them with her white wings as she too, closed her eyes in prayer.

A Devil was not supposed to find any value in such sights, of displays of devotion towards the Father in Heaven.

Had anyone told that to the Devils watching, they would have found themselves completely and utterly ignored.

* * *

They'd been celebrating Irina moving into the dorm for a few hours, that night, when Irina decided she was going to get some fresh air, and made her way up to the rooftop.

Having been prompted to join her, Xenovia watched questioningly as Irina walked ahead, keeping her back turned and fiddling with something she couldn't see.

"Hey, Xen-chan, somethings been bothering me."

Irina murmured, staring up at the starry sky as the wind swept through her hair.

"Yes? What is it, Irina?"

Irina turned to her then, a soft frown on her pretty face as she toyed with the cross around her neck with one hand, and dug into her side, just above the hip, with the other.

"Whenever I hold my cross, I feel like I'm forgetting something important…"

Xenovia went rigid.

"Neh, Xen-chan…"

Irina's troubled voice sent a chill down her spine.

"Who's Issei?"

* * *

 **This is fine.**

 **Don't worry about it, there are no unfortunate possibilities that could come to be when a major life event with far reaching repercussions gets locked away from memory.**

 **Always kind of irked me that when Irina's wings flickered it was only used for comedic purposes. I mean, if Irina actually Fell, I doubt anyone would be laughing.**

 **Also, Akeno got to try out having an affair, except that she didn't actually want to have an affair-affair, and thus Yuuji had trouble maintaining immersion.**

 **Had some fun with Serafall (no seriously, has no one noticed the similarities with Irina?), and had some not so fun times with Grayfia. Grayfia's personal storyline will move forward a bit in the coming summer arc, and we'll continue to see Yuuji befriending important people by not caring that they're important people.**

 **I mean, how many non-related people would be willing to talk to the Satans themselves like** _ **they're**_ **people?**

 **In other news, I started writing a new story, and the first chapter is up. It's a HOTD and MGE crossover, which kind of just happened on its own, since both settings are a bit lacking in consistently updated fanfics. Stories will be updated in chronological order, and each story will have roughly a month between chapter releases.**


	20. The Best Intentions

**Sorry for the delays. Holidays and all that.**

 **Some of the chapter can be a little gloomy, so I suppose it wasn't really all that suitable for the holidays anyways.**

 **To all my readers, I hope the Christmas season treated you well.**

 **And to all my readers that were hoping for more JB, especially involved in certain activities…**

 **Well, wish granted.**

* * *

 _If he was feeling generous, the word he'd use to describe the small, one bedroom suite was 'homely'._

 _He wasn't feeling generous, and so the fading, peeling wallpaper and creaky wooden floor just served to irritate him further._

 _It was strange… what kind of battle had taken place in a dingy apartment like this?_

 _And where was his guide, the Echo meant to lead him through?_

 _It was a new experience to not awaken immediately by their side, and…_

 _It disturbed him more a lot more than he would have thought._

… _. Well, this one wasn't all that complicated, he supposed._

 _He stepped into the cramped little room that served as kitchen, dining room and living room all in one, and trained stormy black eyes upon the door._

 _Any minute now, ( )_ _would stumble through the door, and when ( ) did, he was going to pick up the-_

 _ **Smashhisskulltakethe-**_

… _His head hurt._

 _Those thin walls were too close, this room was too small, where was ( ), why did-_

 _ **Left alone at the station for hours, waiting, wondering-**_

 _Hey… where was she?_

 _She should be right there-_

 _ **Swaying like a rotting fruit from the battered, crooked-**_

" _H-hey ( )... are you there? C-come on now, don't leave me behind… please, I'll behave, I'll try harder, just…"_

 _ **If you're going to take the easy way out, then at least take-**_

Yuuji awoke to the sounds of harsh, ragged breathing, ice down his spine, and-

His arms being pinned down by a pair of wild-eyed women shouting his name.

"Oh, it's morning."

"Y-Yuuji!? Are you alright!?"

Rias blurted out.

"Well, not feeling very rested, but otherwise not too bad."

"You were having a nightmare."

Akeno whispered, voice level even as her chest continued to heave and her pupils dilated from stress and panic.

"... That so? Sorry about that."

Akeno winced and shook her head.

"N-no… just… I'm glad you're alright but… just what did you see?"

Yuuji opened his mouth to explain, but found himself frowning in puzzlement as-

 _Dangling from the-_

Memories slipped away like mist.

"Why was it so much worse, tonight?"

Rias asked quietly, just as unwilling to release him as Akeno.

"What do you mean, tonight? … Oh yeah, I guess I do have a lot of nightmares."

"Don't say it as if it's someone else's problem."

Akeno frowned, speaking with a little catch in her voice.

"Sorry… didn't mean to scare you two… guess it's a little much to hope I didn't wake you up?"

"I'm more worried about how we couldn't calm you down without waking you up…"

Rias shakily admitted.

"... So that's why I've been sleeping better over the last few months."

He didn't call them out on keeping that hidden from him, not when…

"Yuuji..."

Rias began.

The part of him that wasn't quite awake took a moment to appreciate how they were beautiful, even when they were fighting down their panic and glaring at him like-

"Yes?"

"Please, anything. If you remember anything at all, no matter how vague, please tell us."

Akeno finished.

"... Sorry, but I've got nothing. Dreams are like that sometimes, the harder you try to recall, the harder it gets to remember anything."

"Sometimes, you toss and turn and frown a little bit… but others, like tonight, you thrash and scream… sometimes angry, sometimes terrified."

Rias explained slowly.

"We've… kept quiet about it for now, but I have to ask… do you… do you have nightmares about your… job?"

Yuuji looked up at the ceiling with a long, harsh sigh.

… Damn he was tired.

"Stop beating around the bush you two. Ask what you want to ask and let's get it out of the way."

They flinched and shied away.

In the silence that followed, Yuuji glared up at the ceiling, wondering if the tense atmosphere would vanish if he just got off the bed and left.

"Is it… is it your Sacred Gear?"

"A-Akeno!"

"Rias, that's enough… you didn't get to see it, during the peace conference, but… I just can't get it out of my head. It's… a nauseating feeling, knowing that the man you love is walking and talking, despite the fact that he's _just not there_."

"... You didn't… you could have said something-"

Rias muttered quietly as her expression fell.

"Of course I didn't… you're just as scared as I am, and you didn't even get to-"

Yuuji cut off the beginnings of an argument as Rias scowled.

"... The answer is yes, by the way."

""Huh?""

"You asked if it was my Sacred Gear, the reason I toss and turn so much?"

"Yuuji, what do you-"

"Did you know dreams could be painful?"

The temperature in the room fell sharply.

"... Yuuji, what do you mean by that?"

Rias asked, staring at him stiffly.

Akeno had gone completely still, staring at him in horror as the beginnings of realization hit.

He'd meant to be gentle… but he was tired - _I'll never forgive you-_ and he just couldn't stop, even if he wanted to.

"When I freak out the most, it's probably because I'm busy dying."

Yuuji chuckled, and it was a bitter thing that stung his throat.

"It's gotten a little easier, so now it's two, three times a night on average? I play through a memory like an actor on the screen, just one type-casted to never survive the film."

Silence was the only response.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, really. There are repeats, and the whole point of them is to understand that they're happening to _someone_ _else_. Just wears on you a bit, you know? Never imagined that being blown to pieces could start to feel repetitive, but you can adjust to almost anything if it happens often enough."

Still nothing.

Maybe they fell asleep?

The story wasn't all that interesting, and he didn't really see a need to avert his gaze from the ceiling.

"So to summarize, several nights a week I get dragged into the memories of a past wielder of the Memoir, and I get to see how they died in… what was it Gasper called those games? … Oh yeah, _first-person perspective_."

Huh, catharsis was a strange thing.

Yuuji felt _much_ better after saying that out loud.

… He was a little chilly though.

Couldn't pinpoint it, but the ceiling must be leaking, because something had been dripping onto his chest for a while now-

Curious, Yuuji at last turned his gaze to the right and then the left.

One on side, Akeno, and the other, Rias.

Shaking in utter silence, tears slowly trickling from their wounded eyes.

He'd… pretty much forgotten they were there.

' _The hell is wrong with you, you bastard…'_

He-

They didn't even seem to consider stopping him, as Yuuji pulled from their arms and rolled off the bed.

Over to his dark wooden desk, where a nondescript black flip-phone was buzzing away.

Yuuji flipped it open.

"9029 reporting- huh? … It's not like you to use the wrong phone like this."

They watched as Yuuji went still.

"Yeah, I'm on my way."

He closed the phone, placed it back on the desk and began to dress himself.

"... Yuuji… where are you…?"

Yuuji turned towards the source of the weak whisper, that blank mask of his firmly in place.

"JB needs me."

… They couldn't bring themselves to try and stop him.

Instead, Rias and Akeno watched in silence as the man they loved left the room without a backwards glance.

Without a single inkling towards the idea that the one most at a loss…

Was Yuuji himself.

* * *

JB nearly leapt out of her seat when swirling gray began to emanate from her living room floor, making the world a magnitude more lifeless and colorless by its very presence.

It formed into a circle, and then-

"Warn me before you do that. I haven't quite wrapped my head around the scientific impossibility that is you."

She quipped as the gray faded and left one Kazami Yuuji in its place.

"JB."

"... You too, huh?"

"Yeah."

No one was sure who moved first, but in one breath they were staring at each other, and the next, their lips were mashed together and their limbs entwined.

… _I really missed this, didn't I?_

* * *

It may have been a few minutes, or it may have been a lifetime of silence before at last, one of them broke their gaze away from the closed door and spoke.

"I should have handled that better."

"..."

"I'm… sorry, Akeno. I… no, you were right. I was just scared. I thought that there was no sense in telling Yuuji everything when I didn't have a solution, that we could get by just fine without his Balance Breaker and the problem would fix itself, but… those were just excuses. I was just running away from my own fears."

"... You weren't the only one, Rias… I was just as eager to run away from the issue as you were, after all, I've done it before, haven't I? So… don't try to keep the blame all to yourself."

"... Okay. Thank you, Akeno… now believe me, I don't mean to be rude, but… how did this naturally segue into you playing with my boobs?"

"Because you're naked?"

"... Why is it that when you use that tone, somehow I feel like the strange one?"

"Uh, have you seen your boobs?"

"Anyways… _mmm~_... when Yuuji comes back, we need to sit down _-mmph-_ and talk with him."

"And apologize."

"Exactly."

Akeno's eyes widened just a touch, and as she dropped her hand from Rias' chest, the fingers of her other pressed daintily against her lips.

"Ara, come to think of it, this could be called our first fight, couldn't it?"

A slightly flushed Rias blinked as her glazed eyes focussed once more.

"In our relationship? It could, couldn't it? We'll have to make it up to him somehow."

"Ufufu~ that will be fun… but first, I think we should go down and have a soak in the baths. We don't have anything pressing to do with our day off today, after all."

"I was thinking the same thing, as expected of my Akeno."

"Think I'll send Yuuji a quick message though, from the both of us if you don't mind?"

Rias nodded.

"Yes please. On that note, I'm glad he brought his phone with him… it's just like him to find time to be considerate even when he storms away angry."

Picking up her phone as Rias covered herself, Akeno typed a quick message.

 _A: When you get home, may we sit down and talk? No hurry, but just remember… we love you, and we always will._

Deciding to leave it at that, for now, Akeno covered herself to a suitable degree for wandering the halls as Rias grabbed their towels and soaps from the shared bathroom.

Together, they quietly left the room, only to hear a sharp gasp that brought them both cautiously walking down the empty hall.

Koneko's door was slightly ajar, and flickering lights were escaping through the opening, so carefully, quietly, they eased the door open.

The first thing they say was Raynare, sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning forward slightly as she peered towards the TV in rapt fascination.

In poses of equally total focus were Koneko and Gasper, each seated upon one of the Fallen's legs, and held close by an arm around either of their waists.

Fighting off their giggles, Rias and Akeno softly let the door close and walked away with quiet steps and beaming smiles.

* * *

Breathing still just a little heavy, Yuuji nonetheless rose from his chair and padded across the living room to where his pants had been discarded when he heard his phone buzzed.

Picking it up, he found a message from Akeno, and sighed softly.

… She knew just what to say, didn't she?

He'd have to apologize when he got home, but first things first.

Putting his phone back down, Yuuji crossed the room and sat once more at the dinner table.

 _On_ the dinner table, a sprawled out and naked JB had just begun to get her breath under control.

Stretching with a luxurious sigh, she sat up and looked down at Yuuji with a twinkle in her eye and a purr in her voice.

"Mmm… I needed that. Thanks for getting here so fast."

Jb said, slowly crossing her legs with a smile.

"Me too. Thanks JB."

"Now, you ready to talk about what's bothering you so much?"

"Like hell I am. You were worked up enough to use the wrong phone, so no deflecting from you young lady."

With a giggle and a fond roll of her eyes, JB slid off the table, only to promptly seat herself in Yuuji's lap, straddling him with their chests touching.

Yuuji watched patiently as she got herself comfortable, wiggling her naked behind around a bit and draping her arms over his shoulders with a sultry grin on her lovely face.

Yuuji kept his silence as her shoulders sagged, the sensuous air drifting away from her as her tired head drooped with a weary sigh.

"... It was bad… we…"

JB hesitated briefly, then began to speak, using the typical company lingo to get over speaking about something she wished she could just forget.

"Bad intel. There were more players, and stakes at the table were higher than expected, and, we… could do nothing but fold. Lost almost an entire hands worth of freshly minted cards before we had a chance to pull out."

JB trembled, her voice heavy.

"Only one of them made it out there in one piece, at least physically, and she… she's going to have to be shuffled back into the deck, and the time before she's drawn out next is most likely… indefinite."

So that's what it was… she always took it hard when people died on her watch, but…

"I just… they… the new cards _knew_ me. They knew me by reputation, they were so excited to meet me, to be working under me, so convinced that there was _nothing_ to fear as long as _I_ was calling the shots…"

A bitter chuckle.

"You should have seen it, Yuuji-kun… when we recovered our last card, she, she… she was lucid just long enough to look me in the eyes and _apologize_ for failing me! As if it were somehow _her_ fault alone that her whole team was dead! I… I!"

Without saying a word, Yuuji pulled her head down to rest against his chest.

The trembling grew in strength, and then...

* * *

She lashed out, one arm elongated into a whip-like tendril as the shadows rippled and heaved by the base of the tree.

Dirt and bark flew into the air, but the shadows dispersed to no effect and-

Something slammed into her back hard, bringing her to the ground with one arm twisted behind her back.

"Not bad, maybe just a little too quick to commit."

Ruth said, calmly seated on her back with one hand warped into a dark-furred claw, resting against the back of her head.

"This is much harder when you're basically designed to counter me!"

She didn't even have joints, why did the arm-lock hurt!?

"You're not a ghost… though I suppose Grave-Slimes are a thing so maybe you're right."

Ruth mused, helping the Slime to her feet.

A few seconds later, Suu shook herself, relieved to note that she was rippling properly once more.

{"Alright, that's enough walking on two legs for a while."}

Ruth said, smoothly transitioning into his canine form.

"... Thanks for doing this, Ruth… even if I don't feel like I'm making a lot of progress."

{"Don't mention it. And don't worry, you are definitely getting stronger, it's just, like you said, bad match-up. If you look at it another way, fighting at such a big disadvantage is probably more effective."}

"That's what I was hoping, yes… it's just… don't take this the wrong way but…"

Suu fidgeted guiltily.

{"Hmm? Oh, no, I get that it's a little scary. Not a lot of creatures out there that can force a Slime into solid shape without using spells."}

Ruth commented unworriedly, leaning up against the girl's leg.

{"But just look, you're pretty tired now, right? And you're still, what did you call it, 'Raynare-sized'?"}

Suu nodded hesitantly.

{"So it must be paying off if your resting state is bigger, isn't that the way with any Slime?"}

"Yes, you're right… thank you, Ruth."

Letting the last of her worries go with a watery sigh, Suu reached down and began to run her hands through Ruth's warm fur, careful not to leave any residue behind as she did.

{"Any time. Now while we're at it, how's the shape-shifting going?"}

"I can keep up a human appearance for most of the day, but I still ripple a bit if I'm not careful. It's the bone structure that's hard to imitate."

{"Probably doesn't help that you have to walk on two legs. Four make things much easier."}

"Hehe, only if you're a dog."

Ruth chuckled back.

{"Maybe. Now, gonna tell me what's been bothering you all week?"}

The way Suu flinched made her body ripple, like a stone dropped upon the surface of a still pond.

"W-what do you mean?"

Ruth just looked up at her without a word.

"... Fine, fine… I… I want to help teach Asia over the summer, but…"

{"She doesn't know that you eat people?"}

Ruth finished for her.

"Urk… you could have been a bit more delicate about it."

{"Sorry, I'm just a dog."}

Ruth blandly remarked.

"... Why is that only ever an excuse with you?"

{"Because it's a good one?"}

Suu gave a watery sigh.

{"I think you're worrying for nothing, by the way."}

Suu winced again, but when she timidly looked back to Ruth, her expression was more than a little hopeful.

{"I mean, it's not like you're killing innocent people, is it? Asia isn't the type to blame a predator for following her instincts. If anything, the reason you're going to end up feeling bad is because she tries to blame herself for your desire to keep things hidden."}

"... You didn't have to add that last part."

Suu sulked.

{"Maybe, but… you trust Asia."}

It wasn't a question.

{"So trust her with this… Asia isn't as fragile as you all seem to think. While I think she'll understand your intentions, I also think she'll _appreciate_ you being more open with her."}

"... You make it sound so easy."

{"Because it is. You people just like to complicate things, maybe the thinner air up there makes it harder to think straight."}

"... Maybe I'll try being a dog the next time I have a dilemma to puzzle out. Bet I'd be a cute one."

{"I bet you would, and you'd have the added advantage of being exotic, since most dogs aren't blue and translucent. I'd have to rough up a lot of horny pups."}

Suu giggled.

"Call it a day here, then?"

{"Sure, I'll drop you off at home. Gonna do a tour of the cemeteries after this."}

"Okay, thank you Ruth… for everything."

Suu lent down to hug her long-time friend, before shifting herself into a much smaller, tear-drop shape to sit on the Grim's back.

{"Yeah, you're welcome Suu."}

The shadows rippled once, and they were gone.

* * *

Yuuji rocked the woman in his arms gently as the last stray sniffles dies away.

"Better?"

JB lifted her head to kiss him on the cheek.

"Yeah, thank you Yuuji-kun."

Mouth set in a firm line, JB stood up from his lap and pulled him to his feet.

She guided him into the next room and to her bed, sitting down on one end, prompting Yuuji to lie across the rest of it with his head in her lap.

"... This means it's your turn, mister."

Yuuji closed his eyes for a moment, a small frown on his features.

JB, knowing him well enough to judge his silence, took to gently running her fingers through his hair as she waited.

"Had a fight."

He said, without opening his eyes.

"Akeno, Rias, or both?"

"Yep."

"I see, and what was this fight about?"

"Devil stuff. Remember what I told you about Sacred Gears?"

"You mean your bullshit ability to ignore the supply line entirely when it comes to munitions?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"I remember, yes."

"Well, there's another part to it. Any wielder can unlock something called a 'Balance Breaker' given time, effort or trauma."

"That last add-on was probably unnecessary, but okay. Something like an upgraded form or special technique, given the name?"

"Yeah, it varies, but in my case, the Balance Breaker of Arsenal Memoir is known as the Unknown Soldier."

"Separate entity, or…?"

"Armor. It's made of iron, covers everything below the neck, with a faceplate for the head."

"Magical iron I'm guessing, or else it wouldn't be all that useful against people that can dismantle cars with their bare hands?"

"You guessed it."

"So what's the catch?"

"... Information erasure."

"... You mean, you're becoming that Unknown Soldier? So does it just hide your identity, or is it something a lot less scientific?"

"When the mask goes on, there is no Kazami Yuuji. I'm still calling the shots more or less, but it doesn't require me to be conscious or aware at all. See, the Arsenal comes with a sort of separate headspace, and it's full to the brim with dead soldiers that can't remember who they are. "

Yuuji paused.

"The details are a little fuzzy, but basically my body is the focal point for _all_ of them."

"That might explain some of the random bouts of anxiety I've had over the past few months if you've been blipping out of existence... Other Unknown Soldiers, then? Are they past wielders of this Sacred Gear, or…?"

"Dunno, but the numbers don't add up if it's just that. I have somewhere around a platoon and a half worth of Soldiers awake, but as far as they can tell, we don't have a term big enough for precisely how many of us there are."

JB brought her free hand to her chin, lips pursed as she thought.

"So basically, you have somewhere between 50 and 100 people somehow working in tandem through one body? Must be a lot of mystical bullshit going on, otherwise that's like having an entire platoon trying to screw in a light-bulb."

"That's what I thought too, but quantity seems to transition directly to quality. Light-bulb isn't the best example, more like I'm trying to run a marathon with 78 trained soldier's worth of athletic ability."

"Why did the number suddenly become specific?"

"Ah, I asked. Juno and Lamb did a head count."

"Juno? Lamb?"

JB tilted her head quizzically.

"Oh, those are the Soldiers I deal with most."

"So they retain some memories, if they have names. Unless you gave them insensitive nicknames, being yourself."

Yuuji shrugged.

"None of them remember their names. Juno's a guy from Canada, and Lamb is a half-Dryad from Greece with fluffy hair and soft boobs."

"I see, I see… wait a second."

Yuuji raised an eyebrow in silent question as JB frowned down at him.

"So I understand why a natural womanizer like you would give more details about the girl. But did you seriously nickname a Canadian Soldier after one of the D-Day beaches?"

"... Yeah, why do you ask?"

He didn't really get why JB was glaring.

... After all, _Juno_ thought his nickname was hilarious.

"... No, no, never mind. That was a silly thing of me to ask you of all people. Also, while it was very informative, stop using exposition to distract from the matter at hand."

"... Short version; me suddenly vanishing from existence scares people for some reason, so Rias told me not to use Balance Breaker anymore."

"... And I'm sure you did a great job of listening."

"Actually, the second time wasn't my fault. Actually, come to think of it, the first time wasn't mine either."

JB let out a long sigh.

"And you never considered that might be part of the problem?"

"..."

JB rolled her eyes.

"Huh, yeah, that does kinda make sense. This is why they pay you the big bucks."

"... Sure, sure. Now if not that, what else have you been doing to scare the hell out of the other women in your life?"

"Well, if I die with my armor on, I get to join the ranks of the Unknown Soldiers."

JB went utterly still.

"You'll… vanish. Just like that, and I won't even know you're gone."

She whispered after a moment.

"Yeah."

"Rias' reaction makes a lot of sense now, but… ignoring the problem won't make it go away, will it?"

JB murmured.

"No. Like I said, stress can cause it to activate, and I've never activated it on purpose. I… I haven't told them yet but… each time I've put the mask on, I lose about a weeks worth of memory… and if nothing's done, it will only get worse."

JB responded in a light tone that did nothing to dispel the tension he could _feel_ from her.

"Of course, I bet you haven't been doing nothing."

"The Soldiers intervened. When I dream, I dream of how they died, as if it were me. The bleedover from the Unknown Soldier is that I inherited a portion of their memories and skills, and so they've all been taking turns teaching me how to differentiate between my memories and theirs."

"... Until one of the memories was too traumatic for you to play it off as even the worst of your night terrors."

Yuuji didn't really need to reply… not to her.

"So what did you see that was so bad?"

"... I don't remember."

JB lifted one eyebrow skeptically.

"Nothing?"

"No details anyway… which is already kind of a bad sign, but what I do remember is… that it felt familiar in a way it shouldn't, and… something about it really, really pisses me off."

"I see…"

She had a few ideas, long shots though they might be, but… despite the fact that Yuuji was confiding in her, this _wasn't_ the place to share those ideas.

No, what Yuuji needed right now was-

"So that aside, you woke up grumpy, snapped at Rias and Akeno, and that's why you're currently sulking in my lap?"

Yuuji's eyes narrowed, but she continued on undeterred.

"So apologize if it's bothering you so much, idiot. This whole mess started because you're trying to spare their feelings and keep them from worrying, and now you know they're doing the exact same thing."

She cut off his response with a finger over his lips.

"So, now that you've discovered that, surprise, dancing around each other like that never works, be a man and go fix it. Sit down with them, talk things out and be honest, and then remind them that you still love them by making them scream your name to the heavens."

JB paused for a moment, and then she burst into giggles.

"After all, having Devils scream at Heaven sounds pretty blasphemous, so I guess that just makes it proper behaviour?"

Yuuji was silent for a long while, staring contemplatively up at the smiling woman.

"... Yeah, thanks Julia."

It was totally unfair when his smile was sincere and not that cheeky little half-smirk!

"Any time, Yuuji-kun."

She replied with a tender smile.

"Oh yeah, sorry Julia, but I forgot to mention something important."

JB stilled as Yuuji frowned.

"W-what is it?"

Fretfully she scanned his face, looking for any sign of-

"I love you."

"..."

"... You okay JB? You're looking a little flushed."

"I love you too… now shut up and kiss me you bully."

With a chuckle, Yuuji lifted himself up to do just that.

JB broke the kiss by guiding him to sit upright, allowing her to move out from underneath him and stand.

When Yuuji made to stand as well, she stopped him with a shake of her head and a gentle hand against his chest.

With a playful smile, JB sat down just above Yuuji's hips, straddling him and leaning down to lock lips as their hands intertwined.

JB hummed thoughtfully, making Yuuji's mouth vibrate before she broke the kiss, trailing a thin strand of saliva to keep them connected.

Yuuji quirked an eyebrow as she stared curiously at his right hand.

"Can you… turn that off?"

"... My hand?"

"No, not that, the… magic thing. I want to see your real hand."

JB said with a huff.

Slowly, Yuuji complied, sending a tiny current of magic down into his right arm.

With a dull shimmer, the glamer faded away, revealing the dull iron prosthetic it concealed.

He watched as JB's entwined hand gave it an exploratory squeeze, before shifting her grip to cup the top of his hand in her own.

Slowly, she brought it up to rest against her cheek, and Yuuji gently, carefully rubbed his thumb across her cheek.

"It's a little cold, but… yeah."

JB nuzzled against the battered iron, letting her eyes drift shut.

"Definitely still Yuuji."

Inwardly she smiled as the tension eased from the body beneath her.

Probably didn't realize it himself, did he?

That how she would react to it was making him nervous.

… As if she'd ever willingly do a damn thing to hurt him.

Opening her eyes once more, she untangled Yuuji's hands from hers and guided them down to grip onto her hips, placing her own hands against his chest for stability.

With a wink, JB began to rock her hips, indulging in the contrast of her own soft heat rubbing against his cool, rocky midsection.

"Mm, let's take our time and enjoy ourselves…"

"If that's what you want."

JB lifted her hips once more, crawling slowly and sensually up Yuuji's body, letting out a pleased coo as her heavy breasts drifted mere centimeters away from his face, prompting Yuuji to flick his tongue across her nipple.

Then she got up on her knees, rising above Yuuji just long enough to reverse direction, draping herself across him with her legs on either side of his shoulders, her breasts molding up against his midsection, and his erection so close to her lips that she could practically taste it.

"Don't mind if I do."

She murmured, before doing just that, slowly dragging her tongue from base to tip.

Yuuji's grunt was soon replaced by her moan, as he took advantage of their position as well, poking his tongue against her folds.

Playfully, she planted a sloppy kiss against his length, before easing the end between her plush lips and engulfing it in her warm mouth.

As the stiff rod pushed against the back of her throat, JB gave a pleased hum, one that grew in intensity as the vibrations made him twitch insider her mouth, and reciprocate by spreading her petals open with his fingers.

JB couldn't help but squirm her hips as Yuuji's tongue wormed its way inside her, his hands wrapping up and around to sink his fingers into the soft, firm flesh of her ass.

In response, she gently, insistently pried Yuuji's legs further apart, gripping him by the inner thighs as her head bobbed up and down his mast.

It didn't take them long, not when they were already this aroused.

As she felt her walls constrict themselves around Yuuji's welcome heat, JB could feel the throbbing of the penis in her mouth grow in urgency.

She took his length to the hilt for the first time, effortlessly deep-throating her Yuuji in sync with his lips molding against her entrance and sucking hard, as if trying to pull her orgasm out of her by force.

JB moaned in rapture as hot seed sprayed down her throat, even as her twitching core bathed Yuuji's face in her fluids.

As she came down from her high, JB rolled off of Yuuji and further onto the bed, gazing up at the ceiling with a delighted smile on her face as her naked breasts bounced with every deep breath.

Yuuji recovered first and begun to move.

JB couldn't help but giggle as the thought crossed her mind that that had never really changed, Yuuji had always had sexual stamina bordering on the absurd.

Didn't need to actually _gain_ supernatural stamina for that to be true, though…

If anything, he'd gotten gentler.

Sure, he was still a bully, and knew exactly which of her buttons needed a good, _hard_ push, but she got the impression that he was very much self-aware of his newfound strength.

He was treating her with a delicacy that one less experienced with his behaviour would easily, wholly fail to notice.

These were the fond musings on JB's mind as Yuuji, standing at the side of the bed, grabbed her by the ankles and turned her around so that her feet were facing him.

He wasn't making any particular expression, but those dark eyes were positively _burning_ with want, and so she egged him on with a tempting smile.

As Yuuji pulled her closer, he also pulled her legs farther and farther apart, and JB didn't even bother hiding her delight as she clued into what he was planning.

Yuuji switched his grip to above her knees as more and more of her legs were left dangling in thin air, and JB gave a little gasp when she felt her progress impeded for a single instant by something warm pressing up against her twitching entrance.

Then he pierced her, and JB couldn't help but moan as Yuuji sunk into her inch by inch, never once breaking eye contact.

When he had hilted inside her, JB hooked her legs around his hips and lifted her hands from the bed with her wrists crossed.

After a moment's hesitation, Yuuji reached out with his left hand and grabbed her by the wrists, pinning them above her head.

Yuuji leaned over her, pressing their chests together as he kissed her roughly, their tongues wrestling and caressing one another as he slowly began to thrust in and out.

He knew her well, sometimes, she thought, _too well_.

Yuuji waited patiently until JB could focus on nothing but the lips against hers and the stiff erection inside her before he let his _other_ hand go to work.

JB gave a whine of protest as he broke the kiss, which turned into a shuddering gasp as a cool metal finger tapped lightly down upon the center of her clavicle.

Watching impassively as his lover writhed beneath him, Yuuji began to trace the line of her body with one finger in one long, languid trail.

Between the warm valley of her breasts, down the smooth, firm skin of her stomach, all the way down to-

She gave a sharp gasp and bucked against Yuuji as that cool, metallic finger gently brushed against her clit.

As her blankly staring captor mercilessly drove her to the edge, alternated his thrusts with feather-light strokes against her twitching nub, JB let her long lashes flutter shut.

They shot open in panic as all movement from Yuuji came to an utter halt, leaving her right at the edge of bliss.

Before she could say a word, his lips curled into that fiendish half-smirk.

"That's right Julia, look me in the eyes."

She did just that, arching her back like a drawn bow as Yuuji drove her to a toe-curling climax that his continued thrusting only seemed to prolong.

With a grunt, soon Yuuji unloaded inside her, pushed over the edge by her walls clenching spastically around him, tearing a wail from JB's lips as the rush of heat painting her inside brought her from one orgasmic high straight into another.

Laying there for a while in a gasping heap of bliss, as Yuuji laid his head against her heaving chest, she prompted him to release her hands with a shake of her arms.

Gripping his cheeks with both hands, JB pulled his head up with a smile and whispered lovingly to him.

"Kiss me."

"Of course."

It was much gentler embrace this time, their lips meeting softly and tongues caressing each other slowly as they took the time to savor the taste of one another, and enjoy the heat of each others bodies.

Eventually, JB broke the kiss with some reluctance.

"Let's get cleaned up so you can head home."

"... You don't need me to stay the night?"

"Need? Not anymore. Want? Absolutely. But, you shouldn't let Akeno and Rias go to sleep worrying like that. Go make up with your girlfriends, I'll be just fine now, okay?"

Yuuji stared at her in silence for a moment before relaxing with a nod.

"If you're sure then… thanks, Julia."

"Mhm, don't mention it. I would like to borrow you for a while once summer break roles around, if you don't mind?"

"I'll look forward to it."

Yuuji confirmed with a smile.

"Great, then…"

JB gave a little squeak as Yuuji caught the unspoken question and scooped her up off the bed, carrying her naked body with him to the shower room.

Their time in the shower ended up a bit more hands-on than necessary but…

Some things just couldn't be helped.

* * *

Panting slightly from his exertion, Ruth stretched himself out as his young playmate disappeared with a cheerful wave.

He imagined that serving as the noble steed for a brave knight would be a lot more work if the knight in question were a bit more solid, but he wouldn't have minded anyways.

{"Not long for that one, huh? Think he's just about had his fill of all the things he missed out on."}

Padding softly through the rows of silent stone, he passed the resting place of that kind old lady who never did believe him when he suggested that he was big for a cat due to actually being a dog.

That was fine though, even if she was a veteran at scratching behind the ears.

Continuing his rounds, Ruth suddenly slipped between a row of headstones, carefully to avoid treading on the graves themselves, as he caught the scent of a living presence.

Moments later he slipped out and altered his course in their direction… he'd recognized the scent, so he didn't have to worry about them being unnerved by a great black hound wandering a graveyard.

Crouched in front of a weathered headstone was a young, athletic woman in the Kuoh Academy uniform, the green highlights of her blue hair gently swaying in the calm breeze as she clasped her hands in prayer.

Ruth slowed his pace as he approached, not wanting to disturb her, but catching a scent suggesting that yes, company would be appreciated soon enough.

Slowly, her head turned to take him in as he approached, brown eyes softening as small spike of readiness bled out from her posture.

"Ruth? What are you doing here?"

{"There's no church attached to this one, but a Church Grim still has his uses in any cemetery."}

"I see."

{"Friend of yours?"}

He inquired softly, tossing his head towards the small headstone.

Xenovia shook her head as she stood.

"No, though I'm sure we would have been had we the chance."

{"Irina then."}

Xenovia nodded, turning back to her scrutiny of the stone.

"This is… the first time I've visited."

Ruth remained silent.

"She was so excited to introduce me, but…"

Quietly, Ruth moved just a little closer, watching her calmly.

"I… I don't know what to do. He… I'm sure Lord Michael knows what he's doing, but…"

He could tell she wasn't really speaking to him anymore, but that was no reason to ignore her words.

{"... Oh. That bad, huh?"}

Xenovia nodded once, before blinking in surprise and whipping her head his direction as his words sunk in.

"Wait, you know? How!?"

{"You're visiting on behalf of a friend who, judging by what I've seen, would have been incredibly enthusiastic to bring you here, and whatever the reason is has you second-guessing the leader of Heaven. Not to say that I've pinpointed everything, but I can at least make a guess."}

"Sometimes I forget that you aren't just a dog."

Ruth rolled his eyes, not really minding the blunt comment, even if it was a little rude.

{"That's because I try not to point it out if I can help it. Less demanding lifestyle that way, and less reason for the mother hens to force me to into all the things I'm more than smart enough for, like highschool."}

"That makes sense, I don't care for school much beyond the company."

{"Seems reasonable. Suu can't keep human shape as reliably as I can anyways, so I don't want her to have to spend school periods all alone if I can help it."}

Xenovia nodded with a small smile.

"You really do take good care of her, don't you? If you don't mind me asking, is it because of Isabel?"

Xenovia winced as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Forgive me, that was rude. I'm too blunt for my own good some-"

{"Maybe a little bit, I guess. It's not that I view her as a replacement or anything like that, but I won't deny that I've started to feel the same way about Suu as I do Isabel."}

Ruth admitted calmly.

{"Even back in the Forest, she was the one who always seemed to know when being alone was no good for me. I've protected her for a long time, sure, but she was the one who saved me."}

"I see. I'm happy for you."

Xenovia said with a tender smile on her face.

{"It's the same for you though, isn't it? That's why you're here, after all."}

Xenovia froze.

{"Protecting those we love isn't always a straightforward thing. Grief is the same that way, I suppose."}

"Then what do I do?"

{"There's no easy answer. Maybe what she needs is just a little support, or maybe just to burn away the shadows of her bad memories with the light from happier ones. Maybe she has wounds that will never heal, and forgetting where her scars are from really is the best thing for Irina. 'Facing your pain' sounds nice and all, but it doesn't really account for what happens if you fail."}

Xenovia's gaze drifted to the sky as she frowned.

{"But what I do know, is that whether she can heal or not, Irina will manage to hold on as long as she has someone she can rely on. Someone who, no matter what, will be her ally at the end of the day. So, rather than worry about the things that _could_ happen, focus on the things _you can do_ , and make a decision."}

Xenovia's eyes shot back down to lock onto his crimson with absolute focus.

{"Are you willing to be that person or not?"}

"I'll never turn my back on her."

Xenovia declared without a shred of hesitation.

{"Well, there's one of the answers you needed, anyways. Now it's up to you to prove that to her."}

"I will."

Xenovia said with a firm nod.

Ruth kept his silence, long experience telling him that their talk was about to end on the typical note.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ruth smiled inwardly as Xenovia hands twitched in his direction, and her face contorted into a variety of expressions as she fidgeted.

"Umm… that is…"

Heh, kind of cute to see such a blunt child hesitate.

"Can I…?"

She frowned, puzzled as to why she couldn't just say what she wanted to say.

{"I don't mind."}

Xenovia expression immediately brightened into a smile suitable for one her age, though he doubted she was really aware.

With the patience of long practice, Ruth gracefully bore the war maiden's somewhat rough efforts to scratch behind his ears.

This was why, for any sort of serious conversation, Ruth would always return to his canine form.

After all, for both himself, and whoever he was talking to, there was a certain value to be had in the fact that he was…

Just a dog.

* * *

A swirl of dull grey heralded Yuuji's return to the dormitory, and his bedroom.

His timing couldn't have been better, as Rias was sitting at the desk, just as Akeno had entered the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Yuuji!"

The girls both rose from their seats with bright eyes, and Yuuji took a step forward-

Everyone jerked to an awkward halt as tension flooded the room.

Nervous silence reigned before Yuuji took a deep breath and broke the stalemate.

"""I'm sorry."""

Slowly, three sets of eyes blinked at the realization that their respective voices seemed to have echoed more than they should.

As understanding dawned, Akeno was the first to break the new silence… with a giggle.

This set off Rias, and as the girls began to laugh helplessly, a dry, quiet chuckled intermingled as the quietest member of the room found himself dragged into the mirth as well.

As the laughter trailed off, a short silence followed as they gathered their thoughts once more.

Sharing brief nods, Yuuji and Akeno both turned to Rias, deferring to their King to move the conversation forward.

With a repentant smile, Rias stepped forward and cupped Yuuji's cheek with one hand.

"I'm sorry, Yuuji, I… I failed as your King."

When Yuuji went to interject, Rias cut him off with a shake of her head, and by moving the hand on his cheek to place a finger on his lips.

"I want so badly for you to feel comfortable trusting me, relying on me, that when a situation arose where I didn't have any answers, I panicked. I pushed it to the wayside, tried to avert my gaze and pretend that if I ignored it long enough, the problem would vanish on its own."

Briefly, she closed her eyes as she continued to speak, her hand going back to rubbing against Yuuji's cheek.

"Perhaps you don't see it the same way, but while you were gone, I began to wonder what the difference was between turning away from your troubles, and turning away from _you_. I… I didn't like the answer I found."

Rias set her shoulders as her eyes opened, azure orbs gazing deeply into Yuuji's with a fierce intensity.

"We'll find a solution, no matter what it takes. I want you to be happy, I want you _all_ to be happy, and if that means I have to figure out how to bring one of God's weapons to heel, well, that's precisely what I'll do. So once again Yuuji, I'm sorry, and I love you."

Her smile this time was a much gentler, tender thing, but as something caught the corner of her eye, Rias stepped back with a mischievous wink.

Yuuji's curiosity was immediately sated when a _different_ hand cupped his cheek, and his head was turned to greet a pair of bright violet eyes.

Holding him for a moment with her hands on either cheek, Akeno merely stared into his eyes for a moment, before they both moved as one.

Akeno moaned into him as their tongues danced and carressed, Yuuji's hands trailing down her sides to cup her ass beneath her skirt, his thumbs worming their way beneath smooth fabric.

She gave a little gasp as he used that grip to lift her heels from the ground, and she snaked one hand around the back of his head to tangle itself into his dark locks.

After a while she broke the kiss, leaving them both panting as she pressed their foreheads together.

"I'm sorry too, Yuuji, I… I was scared of your Sacred Gear, of what it could do to you… but more than that, I was afraid of how it could tear us apart. It was… more selfish than I'd like to admit."

She whispered up at him, just loud enough that Rias could hear her clearly as well.

"I've been haunted by my own power, and you were the one who saved me, who gave me the strength to move forward. But when the situation was reversed, I hesitated. I promised that we, that _I_ would smile for you, that I would cherish you, and yet I was so quick to avert my eyes when something that I had no answers for reared its head."

Akeno pressed their lips together once more, briefly.

"So I promise you, Yuuji, that whatever struggles you might face, know that from now on, they're _mine_ as well. Whatever plagues you, whatever might keep you up at night, I won't let you face it alone. I love you Yuuji, and, well, speaking of selfish…"

Akeno gave a sultry, wicked giggle.

"I don't have any intention of letting you go. Forever and ever, you're mine, just as all of me is yours."

"... Thank you. Both of you."

Akeno gave a pleased hum as she laid her head against his chest, shifting off to one side to allow herself to feel the slow, strong beat of Yuuji's heart against her cheek.

He released her with one hand to beckon Rias over, and, as she pressed herself against his chest as well, meeting Akeno's fond smile with one of her own, Yuuji reached down and slipped his hand beneath _her_ skirt as well.

Rias shivered in delight as the cool metal of his hand cupped one firm ass cheek, and reached across Yuuji's back to press one hand against it, over top of Akeno's.

They remained like that for a while as Yuuji gently swayed, their longest silence yet since his return.

Patiently the girls waited until Yuuji was ready to speak.

"I think… I'm too used to secrets. It's just been JB and I for so long that part of me is still struggles to believe that there are other people who care. I'm… honestly, I thought I understood that already, but I guess I was just complacent. I'll… I'll do better."

The girls let out a contented hum, keeping silent otherwise to allow him to finish speaking at his own pace.

"I guess all I can really say is that I'm sorry… I didn't mean… no, I guess I was trying to shut you out from my problems. Maybe I like the idea of being relied on a little too much. I haven't really puzzled out exactly what I'm feeling here, but… at least I won't try to figure it out all on my own."

One last pause, and then…

"Akeno, Rias. I love you both… and thank you."

They drifted once more into a comfortable silence, taking their sweet time to revel in their mutual embrace.

Later, they would return to the topic, delving into the specifics of Yuuji's dream-time journeys, the gaps in his memories, and possible checks and solutions.

Much later, because…

Akeno looked up to Yuuji and winked.

"Yeah, would almost be a crime not to, wouldn't it?"

Yuuji agreed.

"... Sorry, did I miss something? I think I might have been too relaxed to pay attention."

Rias asked hesitantly.

"Somethings are impossible to miss, Buchou."

"Hmm, what do you mean, Yuuji?"

"Ara, he means _this_."

Rias gave a sharp inhale as Akeno explained with actions rather than words.

… They never did quite make it to the bed, but, as they slept in a naked tangle on the floor, every single one of them wore the same contented smile.

* * *

It had been almost two weeks since Yuuji, Akeno and Rias had had the closest thing to a 'fight' in their relationship… and enjoyed themselves making up for it.

Since then, they'd made a morning ritual of sorts, where Yuuji would speak briefly about any Memoirs he'd experienced during the night.

That had been a struggle in and of itself… there were somethings that there was no gentle way to address.

But, true to their promise, Akeno and Rias refused to turn away, no matter how awful they might be.

It helped that they came up with all sorts of fun little things to do to each other, in order to lighten the mood afterwards.

Rias had been speaking with Ajuka Beelzebub as well, and the Satan had been conducting investigations of his own.

Yuuji would be meeting with him in person at last, on the Wednesday of the upcoming week.

Ajuka, willing to go that extra mile for the little sister of his fellow Satan (which practically made Rias _his_ sister as well, with how close the Satans were), would be meeting with Yuuji at one on his facilities on Earth.

This was news to Yuuji, but apparently his first visit to Hell required certain procedures, procedures that would take more time from school than strictly necessary, both his King and his Sensei agreed.

… Also, Rias wanted to be with him, and her other new Servants, for their first trip to the Underworld, so she could witness and savor every moment of the experience.

… And film it.

The Familiar Forest didn't count, it might not have been _exactly_ part of Earth, but it wasn't _exactly_ part of the Underworld either.

Yuuji hadn't been all that interested in the specifics, if such things really existed.

So things were looking up on _that_ front, but…

"Kala."

"Ah, Yuuji-sama? What is it? Please, take a seat."

The Fallen Angel tittered as Yuuji immediately made himself comfortable, stretching out on the couch beside the lovely Fallen, and casually resting his head in her lap.

Kalawarner was being patient in regards to _certain_ aspects of their relationship, but that did not mean she couldn't act more comfortably around him.

A girl had needs, after all.

Speaking of needs, she could already imagine what _his_ were in this scenario.

"... Forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but from your demeanor, is it fair to say you've taken note?"

"Yeah, Ray's acting weird. I thought it was that time of the month, but that time of the month was last week and she's only getting weirder."

Yuuji blithely commented in his dull monotone.

Kalawarner coughed in surprise.

Just because she was used to his mannerisms did not mean she was always _prepared_ for them…

Yuuji had a way of keeping people off-balance like that.

"Your train of thought is not… wholly incorrect. It is a… delicate time for Raynare, but it is the time of _year_ , rather than month that is troubling her."

"... I didn't miss her birthday, did I?"

Even as he kept his face neutral, Yuuji winced internally as Kalawarner cringed.

"No, that is… well, let us just say that we Fallen consider ourselves to have _two_ separate dates of 'birth'... and many of us are hesitant to celebrate either."

"... Sorry."

She shook her head gently.

"Think nothing of it… there was no way for you to know. As for Raynare… no, improper though it may be to hint at such things, she is in dire need of solace that she still believes she has no right to seek."

Kalawarner began, staring off into the distance with a small frown.

"Let us just say that it will be quite a struggle for her to enjoy her day off, this week in particular. It will mark the passage of something that has changed her life forever… one that has few comparisons, and likely never will."

Yuuji kept his silence as her gaze drifted downwards.

"But, you, Yuuji-sama, are tied quite intimately with one such comparison, and that is why you are perhaps best suited to reach out to her… and why reaching out to you in turn is a prospect Raynare is so utterly _terrified_ by."

"... I don't really get all of it, but… I think I know what I need to do. Where is she, anyways?"

Kalawarner pointed with one finger towards her closed door, across the hall.

"Gotcha. Thanks Kala."

"No, thank you, Yuuji-sama… not just for her sake, but for mine as well. I cannot quite put into words how grateful I am."

"I think I get it, yeah."

The surest way to make Kalawarner suffer was to make _Raynare_ suffer, after all.

Which also meant that to help one...

Yuuji rolled off of Kalawarner's lap and stood.

"Good time to do this, while everyone else is out."

Blankly gazing at the smiling Fallen, Yuuji gave a small nod before turning away.

As he walked towards her room, he called over his shoulder.

"Sorry, by the way."

Before Kalawarner could ask for clarification, Yuuji reached her bedroom door…

Someone gave a shriek of surprise as he kicked it off its hinges.

* * *

When Yuuji found Raynare, she was standing on top of the bed, her back pressed against the wall, wings flared, and eyes wild.

"Y-Yuuji-kun!? What the hell was that!?"

Yuuji shrugged as he strode further into the room.

"You're acting strange, so I thought I'd start us off on the same level."

"... Eh? W-what do you… I mean, I'm n-not acting strange, don't be…"

Yuuji's eyes narrowed.

"Sit down already."

Meekly, Raynare did just that, letting her wings vanish as she plopped down on the edge of the bed.

Squirming awkwardly, she had just worked up the courage to give voice to one of her many questions, when Yuuji cut her off.

"I don't know what's bothering you. I don't know why you've been subtly keeping me at arms length for a week, even though whenever you think I'm not looking, you stare at me with this sad little smile on your face."

Panic flashed across her features, but Raynare's mouth opened and shut without a denial managing to slip free.

"What I do know is that it ends now."

"... Ends? W-what do you mean?"

Raynare finally managed to ask, cringing as she did.

"You and I are going out on Sunday, and we're staying out until you can show me a smile that doesn't look like it's tearing you apart."

Yuuji grit his teeth as he watched her pale face flicker between shock, then delight, the sorrow, before finally settling on resignation.

"I appreciate the offer, really I do, but… I d-don't think it's a good idea so I'll pass."

Raynare said, huddling sadly in her seat.

"Huh, kind of expected that. Which is why I'm not asking."

Raynare flinched as Yuuji began to stalk towards her.

Her eyes flickered towards the window, but in the end she stayed where she was, wide violet eyes locked upon narrowed black.

"You haven't forgotten, have you? You, Raynare, are my _property_. I own you, your life is mine, remember?"

Raynare shrank back in fear as Yuuji loomed over her.

"I didn't want to do things this way, but you've forced my hand."

'

Like a mouse before a serpent, Raynare went utterly still, as if the slightest quiver would set off the predator she was trapped by.

"That's why, Raynare. I order you to let me offer to take you out on a date."

"... Eh?"

"What?"

Yuuji asked impatiently at the Fallen now staring open-mouthed in his direction.

"... W-wouldn't it be easier to just order me to go on a date with you?"

What the hell was she even asking!?

What was going on!?

And why did he look so disappointed all of a sudden!?

"Ordering a woman to date you is an abuse of authority."

Yuuji pointed out as if it was obvious.

"Y-you just called me your property a second ago! Worrying about stuff like that now doesn't make any sense!"

"..."

"No seriously, that disappointed look really hurts! Why am I the unreasonable one!?"

"You've always been afraid, haven't you?"

Raynare nearly choked on her next words.

Yuuji continued, unconcerned as she spluttered and coughed.

"At first, I thought it was me that frightened you. But eventually, I realized that wasn't quite right."

No, no, no-

"It's funny, actually, but no one ever did get around to asking."

In spite of herself, Raynare did just that.

"What I wished for, what wish summoned Rias to save me that day."

"..."

"It was you, Raynare. It was the first time I've been hurt… and the one who did it _suffered more._ "

She would have recoiled less if he'd slapped her.

"You were crying, and all I could think about was how I never wanted to see that again."

Weakly, desperately she averted her gaze.

"You're not the only one who feels guilty about it."

He'd used her as an escape… and it had nearly destroyed her.

"Stop…"

It was more of a whimper than a whisper.

"P-please… don't… don't say anything more…"

Slowly Raynare rose to her feet, not looking at his way, but groping blindly for him nonetheless.

Each time her hands would find him, they would flinch and withdraw.

… It took her three tries, but the end result was her head against his chest, her hands weakly gripping handfuls of his shirt-front.

Calmly, Yuuji draped his arms around the shivering girl, pulling her closer.

"I'm sorry… I'm so… so sorry…"

Yuuji let his gaze drift up to the ceiling as she mumbled against him.

"Maybe I didn't give you the right answer, back then, at the church."

He mused.

"Raynare."

The trembling ceased with a sharp intake of breath, and Raynare went completely, utterly still.

"I forgive you."

* * *

 **There was more I could write there, between Yuuji and Raynare but I don't think I need to drag it out more than necessary. You'll see the end result next chapter, and I'm sure you folks can figure things out on your own, so I'll leave it to your imagination.**

 **Just like I imagine some of you can guess what 'two' birthdays a Fallen Angel might have, though that one will be addressed further when appropriate.**

 **Ruth ended up showing up a lot more prominently in this chapter than intended, but I did want to flesh out his character a bit more. He's interesting to write, because he's a lot older and wiser than he tends to display, but being originally an ordinary canine, and now one of the Fey, his maturity reveals itself in different ways than the rest of the cast.**

 **Early teasers at Suu's advancing plotline, she's another one who's gonna be busy over the summer.**

 **Yuuji, Akeno and Rias had their first conflict of sorts, which would have been a lot worse if Yuuji hadn't bailed. That starting scene with the Memoir is… important. Some of you might be able to guess if you're familiar with Grisaia, but the knowledge isn't essential, since I'm not going to assume anyone has it.**

 **And at last, that JB lemon that I know several of you were looking forward to. I've never actually written a 69 before, so hopefully that turned out okay, and it was kinda fun to write out a scene between two people that have** _ **lots**_ **of practice with each other.**

 **As soon as I decided on** _ **why**_ **those two were meeting up, it was too good an opportunity to miss. Hopefully JB's card-related work speech wasn't too vague, and if you were confused, basically, she was overseeing an Ichigaya mission, things went south, and a bunch of brand new operatives died.**

 **Operatives that had a bit of hero-worship going on for her.**

 **Yikes.**


	21. Patchwork Heart

**Many things in this chapter just kind of happened on their own, and somewhere along the way, I realized that this story as a whole ended up more slice-of-lifey than I originally intended.**

 **But while there are some areas where I think the pacing could have been better, overall, I think the tone of the story is working pretty well.**

 **To** **N4M1-505, my guest reviewer(s?); that thing you're hoping for, with your bae? Well, it's on the way.**

 **Hehe, that rhymed. But seriously, summer is gonna be hella sexy for our cast, and at least two of the explicit scenes I have planned involve Kala.**

 **As for the TV-tropes page, yeah, might be cool, but I'm not gonna make one. Something about making one for your own work seems wrong to me for some reason, though I'd definitely offer input if someone else did.**

* * *

She held the garment against her chest, gripping one of its sleeves and twirling about with it as if it were an imaginary dance partner.

Her smile merely brightened at a quiet knock against the door, even as her dance continued.

"That you?"

She called out in a cheerful, lyrical tone.

"Indeed it is, may I?"

"Of course, come on in!"

Her gentle smile widening as she slipped into the room and shut the door behind her, Kalawarner watched fondly as Raynare twirled about.

Discarding the dress she was holding in midspin, she took Kalawarner's hands in her own without missing a beat.

"Someone's excited, did Yuuji-sama tell you the plans for today?"

"Nope, isn't it great!?"

"Anything that can make you smile like that is a wonderful thing in my books, Raynare."

"Ehehe~ love you too, Kala."

Raynare pressed in and pecked Kalawarner on the cheek before releasing her, spinning away to once more scoop up the dress she'd decided on.

"Think he'll like it?"

The younger Fallen asked, holding it up proudly as Kalawarner seated herself on the desk chair.

"Ah, I'm sure he will, Raynare."

Her soft smile firmly in place, Kalawarner lightly shut her eyes, listening to the whisper of fabric and the humming of her oldest, dearest friend.

Raynare had never seemed so radiant, so _happy_ as she did in this moment.

Kalawarner would be eternally grateful to Yuuji for his part in that.

* * *

He'd never quite fully put his misgivings to rest about the idea of dating multiple women.

Then again, he'd never imagined he'd fall in love, not again, not after Asako had passed and left just him and JB.

Though… the idea that multiple girls would fall in love with someone like _him_ was still the most shocking.

Yet here he was, and… he'd never have it any other way.

Smiling slightly, Yuuji rolled up the hems of his pants, his shoes and socks already neatly discarded.

"C'mon Yuuji-kun, hurry up!"

The beautiful young woman dancing about in the shallow creek called, giggling with joy.

Raynare had chosen a pure white sundress with a low neckline and wide, billowing skirts that swirled about in the warm breeze, her wedge-heeled sandals discarded by the shore.

As she danced, the warm spring sun shining from above illuminated the thin fabric, teasing at the outline of her slender white legs.

"Sorry, I was just distracted by how pretty you are."

"Jeez, why do lines like that work when you say them?"

"I've heard that sounding serious all the time helps you come across as sincere."

Yuuji calmly suggested, stepping into the cool water of the creek to join the dancing Fallen.

"Must be it."

Raynare agreed with a smile, taking his hands and spinning them both about.

She found herself quickly and pleasantly surprised as Yuuji casually took the lead in their impromptu dance, giggling in delight as he lifted her into the air by her waist, spinning them both about as he did so.

"I didn't know you could dance!"

"I didn't know I enjoyed it."

Raynare laughed merrily at that, and privately, Yuuji was rather proud of being the cause.

… Perhaps not privately enough though, if his dancing partner's knowing wink was anything to go by.

Of course, none of this made dancing on the slippery stones of a shallow creek any safer, but when Raynare slipped, Yuuji merely leaned with her, one arm still around her waist, and the other catching her kicked up leg just below the knee.

"Oops?"

Raynare giggled meekly, their faces inches apart as Yuuji held the low dip.

A heartbeat later, her expression turned playful as Raynare pulled his head in closer and touched her nose to his.

Yuuji rolled his eyes as the Fallen in his arms giggled.

As she was pulled upright, Raynare pressed up against Yuuji, wrapping her arms around his trunk and laying her head against his chest.

"Hehe, Yuuji-kun sure is dependable."

She murmured, taking comfort in the steady sound of Yuuji's heartbeat.

"I try."

"So, not that a forest picnic isn't amazing or anything, but aren't we pretty far out? I can't hear any sounds of the city, or even cars from the highways."

"Yeah, that was kinda the point."

"Oh?"

"Dancing in a creek is kinda dangerous, so what say we continue this a little higher up?"

"Higher? You mean-"

Yuuji flared his wings.

With a gasp of delight, Raynare unfurled her own, and, spinning slowly in place as they did, the duo began to rise slowly into the air.

It was one of the many advantages to having wings that were largely supernatural in nature.

Merely having their wings out allowed 'the ability to fly', actually flapping their wings merely allowed them to do so with greater speeds, and greater levels of control.

Which was why they could dance hand-in-hand several hundred feet in the air without their wings getting in each other's way.

This didn't make it _easy_ , per say, but Yuuji had been working hard to ensure he could do so smoothly enough to keep up with the best flier in the household.

… He'd have to thank Kala for the lessons later.

There wasn't a lot they could do, like this, sure, but Raynare seemed to be enjoying herself as they danced slowly about, so Yuuji was satisfied.

Any second now, he imagined, she'd finally notice the _other_ thing he wanted her to see.

As if on cue, another gasp escaped Raynare's lips, as something below and behind him caught her eye.

"Is that Kuoh!?"

"Sure is."

"It seems so small... from all the way up here."

"Well, like you guessed, we are pretty far out. I'm glad the weather held, though, there was a chance of rain this weekend."

With mock-seriousness, Raynare carefully scrutinized the horizon as they slowly turned about.

"Hmm… nope, no grey clouds today!"

"Gives you a good view of home, doesn't it?"

Raynare blinked.

"... Home?"

"Yeah, just over there is the home we've all been protecting together."

Yuuji smiled as Raynare's eyes widened in wonder.

"This is what I wanted you to see, but…"

Raynare tilted her head in puzzlement as Yuuji abruptly released her, only to shriek in joy as Yuuji put both hands on her waist and lifted her above his head, beating his wings to spin them about faster.

"I'll admit, dancing in the sky sounded fun too."

Laughing as she spread her arms and legs out wide, Raynare peeked downwards to find Yuuji smirking up at her.

A smirk of her own crossed her lips as she left Yuuji's grasp with a sudden beat of her wings, flying in a complete loop to come up at him from below, so closely that her chest brushed against his stomach as she moved.

Letting her wings vanish, Raynare flung her arms around his shoulders and her hips around his waist, leaving them eye-to-eye, and their faces once more inches apart.

"Hmm, have I caught a Yuuji-kun or has a Yuuji-kun caught me?"

Yuuji kissed her.

After a muffled squeak of surprise, Raynare recovered, lifting one hand to grip the back of Yuuji's head, and shivering pleasantly as the kiss deepened and his hands roamed.

"Sometimes I forget what a bully Yuuji-kun can be, kissing me for the first time without any warning~"

Raynare panted, eyes alight and cheeks flushed.

"Had a feeling you'd be fun to kiss."

Yuuji shrugged.

"And was I?"

Yuuji nodded gravely, after a moment.

"... I'm pretty confident in my answer, but we should test it out a few more times just to be safe."

Laughing merrily, Raynare shifted her hands to gently hold his face, and pulled him in once more.

* * *

What a wonderful day.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, a warm breeze was blowing, and-

Lady Gremory's smiling face was inches from her own.

"NYAA~!"

Kuroka elegantly screamed, flinging herself straight up into the air off her perch, much like a startled cat.

Which was precisely what she was, at the moment.

Covering her mouth with one slender white-gloved hand, Venelana Gremory giggled as the startled Nekoshou broke her transformation as she landed, all the better to clutch at her rapidly beating heart.

"Nyaa! Gremory-san, we don't _actually_ have nyine lives, you know!"

"Ara, the knowledge that a flustered Kuroka-chan is rather cute may have awoken something."

Venelana tittered shamelessly.

Kuroka shivered.

"... No, no I'm not going to ask. Did you need something Gremory-san, or were you just indulging your sadistic urges?"

"... Come now, I'm not _that_ bad… am I?"

Venelana protested with just the hint of concern.

Unfortunately, it was mostly feigned, and the keen-eyed cat saw right through it.

"Nyo, nyo, of course not~"

Kuroka assured her gently.

" Though… I am starting to worry there might be whips and chains in the master bedroom~"

Kuroka mused curiously, eyes twinkling with mischief.

Venelana stared at her in a subdued display of shock for several seconds before she was able to formulate a response.

"Hmmph, it seems I'm not the only girl around here who's a great big bully!"

A pouty response, but a response nonetheless.

"And she doesn't even deny it, nyaa."

Venelana averted her gaze with her cheeks puffed in a lady-like fashion, only to wink and giggle a moment later as Kuroka rolled her eyes with a giggle of her own.

… Teasing aside, it did her heart good to see the young Nekoshou so at ease.

Now, to make that smile even brighter.

"What I actually wished to tell you, Kuroka-chan, is that in a few weeks my daughter will be returning to the Underworld for summer break."

Kuroka went still.

"Of course, she'll be bringing her servants with her, as well-"

"SHIRONE IS SPENDING THE SUMMER!?"

Even as her ears rang from the sudden outburst, Venelana could only laugh helplessly as the Nekoshou once more sprung from her seat, this time in pure excitement.

"That's what it means, yes. They'll be here starting from the third week of July until the second to last day of August."

"Over a month? That's great, nyaa! Though, I imagine it's not all going to be vacation, is it?"

Kuroka enquired, her composure valiantly fighting a hopeless battle against her excitement.

Venelana shook her head gently.

"No, you're correct, they'll be here for a few days once break immediately starts, but Rias plans to have about a week put aside for training purposes. After all, her debut at the Young Devils Gathering will be in August, and she will be expected to compete in Rating Games against the other heirs making their debuts."

"Training, huh? That makes things easier for me actually, Shirone and I... have lots of work to do."

Venelana watched the young woman carefully, noting that the idea didn't seem to make Kuroka particularly happy.

"It bothers you still, doesn't it?"

She gently asked.

"... Of course it does… Her struggles with her heritage are my fault. If I'd just-"

Kuroka gave an odd shiver, and the air around her heaved, like a ship upon the waves.

The distortion fled just as quickly as it arrived, though, driven away by the faint gleam of crimson that washed across Venelana's skin.

As Kuroka shook her head with a start, the Gremory matriarch closed in.

The Nekoshou opened her mouth to apologize, but Venelana cut off the approaching downwards spiral before it could even start, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Kuroka, pulling her against her chest with a soft hum.

Kuroka remained frozen for several moments before her hands lifted to return the embrace.

"... Sorry, I-"

The slender arms wrapped around her tightened in warning.

" No… what I meant was thank you, Gremory-san."

"You're most welcome, Kuroka-chan."

… It was something that Venelana Gremory had worked hard to drill into the lovely young cat.

She couldn't stand it when people apologized for their pain…

Any more than she could accept them feeling the need to apologize in the first place.

Well, one step at a time, she supposed.

Kuroka was far from the only one under the Gremory's care in need of healing.

* * *

Some time later, after Venelana had reassured herself that Kuroka would not merely slump into depression the moment she was out of sight (yet again), the Gremory matriarch chuckled softly to herself as a sudden thought struck her.

Rias was bringing her new servants, which meant of course that she and Akeno were bringing their _boyfriend_.

From what she'd heard, her daughter's Pawn was far from ambitious, but he was also strong, and rapidly growing into a Devil worth taking note of.

A nudge here or there, and soon he'd be looking for-

No, no, she shouldn't get too ahead of herself…

Oh, who was she kidding?

Imagine all the fun she'd have encouraging the next generation to go after _whatever_ they wanted!

Too absorbed in her own thoughts as the Gremory matriarch wandered giggling through the halls, she failed to notice the very, very still figure that had come to a sudden halt in an adjoining hallway.

As the laughter faded into the distance, a rather nervous Grayfia gave a muted sigh of relief.

She knew exactly what was happening… the Gremory matriarch was getting _Ideas_.

… Perhaps a vacation was in order.

* * *

Eventually, they took a break from their aerial make-out session in order to fly side by side, leisurely soaring upon the warm eddies and currents of the late spring air.

At one point, Raynare decided she wanted to fly hand in hand, and had gotten around the potential issue of colliding wings by gliding beneath Yuuji _upside-down_ , linking both her hands with his as they glided in tandem.

Once they'd had their fun, they slowly descended to the earth once more, drawing their picnic basket and blanket from a glowing portal as they set up on a grassy knoll, overlooking the creek.

They ate in companionable silence, idly watching the sedate flow of the shimmering waters as they sat side by side, savoring the warm breeze and as it wafted through the vibrant green of the forest trees.

After they'd finished eating, Raynare scooted closer to Yuuji, leaning her head against his shoulder with a pleased sigh.

"Thank you, Yuuji-kun… I really needed this."

"I…"

Yuuji cut himself off, about to downplay his own contributions as he often did.

"No, what I mean is, you're welcome."

Raynare's smile widened, just a touch.

This was… nice.

No, this was perfect.

She felt so happy her heart was liable to burst at any second, so light, so free, and-

 _She didn't deserve any of it._

Yuuji's distant gaze snapped into focus as Raynare stiffened against him.

Deciding not to immediately react, Yuuji remained motionless as Raynare gradually began to relax once more, a quiet, almost derisive chuckle drifting away on the breeze.

"... If you don't mind… c-can we… not go any further than… than this?"

Raynare shuffled awkwardly, not quite looking his way as Yuuji took his time to answer.

"I don't mind."

He said eventually, pretending not to notice as Raynare sagged in relief.

"Sorry, it's just… not that I didn't have fun, this was great, but… well anyways, thanks."

She knew he wouldn't push, and-

"Now that that's out of the way, why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as Raynare flinched.

"B-bothering… me? T-there's-"

Why now!?

Why did he have to ask-

"You're lying."

Yuuji said, not even looking her way as he uttered his mild response.

They were silent for a long while, Yuuji gazing off into the distance as Raynare struggled to rein in the frantic pounding of her heart.

His eyes narrowed as Raynare's panic grew, and, not knowing what else to do-

"Hey, Yuuji, I love you, you know? … And that's why I'm scared."

Raynare said suddenly, her voice hoarse as she chuckled.

"... The way things have gone with you and I, it's actually happened before, you know? Though, the order's just a little off."

Another bitter chuckle.

"See, last time I fell in love with a nice guy…"

Raynare took a deep breath before quietly speaking.

"I killed him, too."

Yuuji remained silent, just watching her carefully, and before she knew it, the words were tumbling out in a rush.

"I am… _was_ an Angel of Love, you know? Back in Heaven. My job was to help look after the young faithful, those just getting ready to open up their hearts for the first time."

 _Before she ruined everything._

"Hehe, you know Yuuji-kun, a lot of first loves don't work with humans? Time and time again as hearts so full of _love_ and _hope_ crumbled _,_ crushed by their own pain, I watched helplessly from afar. Sure, I could nudge here or there, sure I could ease the pain, but… when a heart breaks, no matter how small it might seem, there's a piece you never quite get back."

Raynare snickered, as if it were exciting but harmless school room gossip.

"And you know, I loved them too. It was my nature to love, to care, to feel _with_ them."

… To Yuuji, her laughter sounded a lot like sobbing.

"It's a funny thing, you know. They say you never forget the reason you Fell, but… well. There's no name, barely a face… maybe those memories are the part of my heart I never did quite manage to recover."

"You see, Yuuji-kun, _he_ was someone that never gave up. He was kind, he was caring, he was so understanding, so _good_ , and he was just used time and time again. Each time as I watched a piece of his heart crumble away, he'd gather the pieces up and stand once again."

Broken, but unbowed… maybe that was the same reason she loved Yuuji.

"I don't really know when it happened, but one morning, I woke up, and he was the first thing on my mind, the _last_ thing on my mind when I'd go to sleep. I didn't even realize it, but I grew to hate them, those _bitches_ who used _my_ lovely little ward just to throw him away."

Even as her sad little smile remained etched in place, an old spark of hatred gleaming within her violet eyes.

"Until one day, one new heartbreak, and… the pieces he was trying to pick up just seemed to slip through his fingers. That lovely heart of his had finally shattered into pieces too small for him to hold onto."

Raynare sighed, slumping in exhaustion as the fire in her eyes faded, dull embers losing their light to a darkness that only she could see.

"It just made perfect sense, at the time. If he couldn't fix his heart on his own, he just needed someone to do it for him. If he just had one person, who would never, _ever_ betray him, then he could heal, he could be _happy._ And there weren't any human girls I could trust to do it, so I thought…"

Raynare's smile widened, even as the light from her eyes remained distant and cold.

" _Why couldn't it be me?"_

Almost in spite of herself, the fondness returned to her voice, even as she shook and trembled.

"... I wasn't really prepared for it, you know? It's not like Angels _can't_ have sex, as long as they follow the rules, God wanted us to be happy too, you know? But that's with each other, after they're properly wed, and humans are _always_ off-limits, and… well, honestly, I'm not sure if it even crossed my mind."

"It must have come as quite the surprise, a literal Angel appearing in his dark little room, the air still heavy with the scent of his own sorrow. I don't even remember what I said, what he said. Did I seduce him? Did he seduce me? Maybe I just took what I wanted, too blinded by my own desires to even see his. The only thing I remember is when the ecstasy on his face turned to pure, utter _horror_."

Raynare chuckled merrily, even as she drew her legs up against her chest and huddled against them.

"You've seen it for yourself, haven't you? When we get really, _really_ turned on, our wings unfurl on their own, sometimes. I mean, it was my… my first orgasm, how was a pent-up virgin like me supposed to keep it together? I didn't really get why he seemed so horrified, so _guilty_ until I realized he was _looking_ past me."

Her gaze drifted over her shoulder, as if seeing it once more.

"That's when I saw them, drifting down onto the tangled sheets. A single black feather. I mean, the _leaders_ of the Grigori Fell for making love to mortals, what chance did I have?"

"But it wasn't really Love, Yuuji, that brought me there. I was lying to myself the whole time, and when the feather hit the bed is when I realized it. It was _**Lust**_ towards a beautiful soul, _**Envy**_ towards those filthy _skanks_ who had held that heart only to dash it upon the ground, and _**Pride**_ that whispered that I, I was the _only_ person who could possibly set things right."

The tears were flowing then unheeded, stinging rivers down pale skin.

"The best part is? The first thing he did was beg, _beg_ for forgiveness, for what he had _made_ me do! How fucked up is that!? Of course, being the paragon of courage that I am, I ran away, hurled myself through the glass window and flew off into the night!"

Raynare's voice dropped into little more than a choked whisper.

"I don't even know how long it was, before I returned to check on him. Maybe I wanted to apologize, maybe I wanted to reassure myself that he was okay, hell, maybe I just wanted to fuck his brains out again, I don't know."

It seemed to take ages, but eventually her head turned his way, a weak smile upon trembling lips as Raynare gave a helpless shrug.

"It doesn't matter, because it was all far, far too late. I snuck in and read the coroner's report, and apparently, not long after I flew off, he took a flight of his own, just… without any wings to catch him."

Exhausted she sagged, resting her heavy head against her knees.

"So that's how it went, Yuuji-kun."

She murmured.

"That's how I Fell from Heaven, and that's how I killed my very first love. Sorry to ruin the mood and all that, but it didn't feel right to hide it any longer, not when you're putting so much effort into someone like me."

… It scared her a bit, that he hadn't said anything, even once.

His expression hadn't shifted, all this time, he had just watched her in silence.

With a deep breath, she gathered her courage to speak his name, to ask-

"... Warm?"

It was warm.

There were arms around her, and, muffled but strong, beneath the warmth her head had been turned to press against, was a slow, steady beat.

What was-?

She didn't understand.

Why?

Why was-

"You know, there are certain things you can't say to a guy without waiting for his answer."

Yuuji softly admonished her, and Raynare felt her eyes go wide with wonder as she _felt_ the words, thrumming though his chest.

"Raynare."

The trembling ceased with a sharp intake of breath, and Raynare went completely, utterly still.

"I love you too."

* * *

The sun had taken quite the shift across the sky, he noticed, when Raynare had run out of tears to shed.

Exhausted, the girl had gone limp in his arms, and fallen into a deep slumber, but…

With a smile on her face that just wouldn't falter.

Absent-mindedly cradling the cute thing curled up in his lap, Yuuji patiently watched the clouds amble across the sky.

… He hoped he'd been able to help.

Raynare _seemed_ happier, sure, but he didn't really think he was all that good at reading people, so he supposed the best he could hope for was not making it worse.

Yuuji tried not to tense as Raynare stirred in his lap, eyes fluttering gently as she looked up at him.

The niggling unease vanished as he smiled down at her, and she smiled up, and-

Awareness fully returned.

Flushing a crimson equal to a Gremory's hair, Raynare slowly lifted both hands to cover her face.

Several moments passed before anyone was willing to speak.

"I was gonna wait, you know. Kisses are good, I like kisses, maybe some heavy petting, you know, some hands beneath the dress if things were going well."

Raynare admitted, voice muffled through her hands.

Her hands left her face, revealing a determined pout that triggered some maddened urge to pinch her cheeks, a siren call that Yuuji only barely managed to avoid succumbing to as his hands twitched.

"But fuck that… no, better yet Yuuji, fuck me."

Yuuji blinked once, twice, doubting his ears, and perhaps his mind as well.

Hesitating was the wrong thing to do, it seemed, as the next thing he knew he was on his back, a very much aroused Fallen Angel looming over him like some great bird of prey.

"Well?"

She demanded, irritably.

He didn't get it.

What was he supposed to say to something like that?

No, something that bizarrely cute, that charmingly vulgar, had only one possible response he could give.

Raynare was left to gape in shock as the man pinned beneath her threw back his head, and laughed and laughed until he could laugh no more.

* * *

Yuuji honestly couldn't remember a time he'd laughed for so long, nor a time he'd laughed that hard.

As if to protest his out of character actions, his cheeks were aching fiercely, and smiling only seemed to make it worse.

… Not that he was going to stop, but he should probably deal with Raynare.

She'd crawled off of him, and was currently sulking with her back turned, even though her head was turned so that she could glare at him out of the corner of her eye.

"... You big meanie."

"Sorry, but I'm not properly trained to deal with things that are ridiculously cute."

"Hmph! Even giving me compliments isn't going to make me less angry, you know."

Raynare declared, with a petulant huff.

"Sorry, I'll make it up to you."

Raynare turned her head away.

Quietly, Yuuji got to his feet and crept over, kneeling behind just within arms reach.

Not having heard, Raynare, after a moment, turned back to see what he was doing.

She gave a little shriek of surprise as Yuuji pulled her onto her back, his head hovering over hers.

She wasn't entirely sure if she was still going to pretend to be mad at him, but Yuuji made the choice for her when he brought his body around, sitting on top of her.

With a bright smile and flushed cheeks, Raynare lifted her arms in invitation.

She wrapped her arms around his wide back as Yuuji leaned in, their chests pressing together as their lips met.

Raynare shuddered in delight as Yuuji's tongue slipped between her lips, her own sliding against his as they took their time to explore each other.

Even as his tongue roamed her mouth, Yuuji shifted his body, lifting his chest off of Raynare and sinking his fingers gently into her heaving breast.

It was the fun thing about low necklines, he idly mused, as he kneaded and rolled the soft flesh beneath his hands.

As his hands moved, his fingers would brush the bare skin above the dress, something Raynare seemed to like if all the squirming was any indication.

Beginning to run out of breath, Yuuji broke the kiss with the panting Raynare, and swung one leg off of her to get it out of the way.

While his disguised iron hand continued its ministrations of one breast, Yuuji lowered his head and planted a kiss on the other, right over top of the thin fabric, before switching his hand to it.

His other hand worked its way under the bunched up hem of her dress, and gently, but firmly pressed one finger against the wet heat it found between her legs.

Raynare shrieked, arching her back like a drawn bow as a small series of convulsions ripped through her supple form.

One eyebrow raised, Yuuji watched the girl go limp, withdrawing his hand from beneath her dress.

"You're more sensitive than I thought."

"What do you… expect… I'm a Fallen Angel of Love. Saying you love me like that... basically counts as edging."

"That's kind of exciting, but are you…?"

"Don't you dare stop now."

Chuckling, Yuuji repositioned himself to sit between her long legs, and slid both hands along the outside of her smooth thighs.

As Raynare moaned blissfully, Yuuji hooked his thumbs into the lacy, dark purple fabric he found sitting upon Raynare's wide hips.

Slipping the panties down, just a little before releasing them, he leaned down, and-

"Y-Yuuji!?"

The Fallen Angel bucked in surprise as Yuuji caught the now slightly loose fabric between his lips, incidentally planting a kiss on her wet opening as he did so.

Just like that, he dragged her underwear down her silky skin, Raynare slipping one leg free as it reached her calves.

Yuuji tossed the garment away with a flick of his head.

When he turned back around though, Raynare stopped him with an outstretched hand, a flicker of uncertainty passing across her furiously blushing face.

"... Is it alright if I… if I'm o-on top?"

Yuuji couldn't help but notice that there was something else to her request, something she wasn't telling him.

"If you'd like."

Well, that was no reason to refuse, not when she was that nervous about asking.

Reaching out, he took Raynare's hands in his own, pulling her up as he laid back.

"Hmm, suddenly, I feel a bit overdressed."

Raynare mused with a finger against her lips, kneeling above Yuuji.

"Watching all the bouncing is one of the best parts about this position."

Yuuji pointed out agreeably.

She'd intended to make a show of it, but-

She was done waiting.

"... P-please?"

She had also planned to open up that belt of his, but…

Her hands were shaking, why were her-?

"Relax… I'm not going anywhere, alright?"

Raynare closed her eyes, and took a long, deep breath.

"S-sorry… I m-might be a little nervous… it's been almost fifteen years since I've been with a guy."

She said, without opening her eyes.

"Huh, I always thought you were my age."

Raynare shook her head.

"Well… time passes differently, in Heaven, so a lot of us Fallen just track age from when we… you know."

"I see."

"Yep."

Raynare replied, opening her eyes to-

"Oh."

"Yep."

Yuuji responded flippantly.

He'd undone his pants, while her eyes were closed, and now Raynare was privy to the knowledge that she wasn't the only person currently very, very turned on.

"It looks almost… painful, like that."

Raynare then gave a wicked giggle.

"But I know just the thing~"

Grabbing his length with one hand, Raynare gave a sharp hiss as Yuuji began to enter her.

Reaching up, Yuuji gently gripped her by the hips to help keep Raynare steady.

"You okay?"

Yuuji managed to get out- damn she was tight- as Raynare began to slowly lower herself with a grimace.

"Y-yeah… j-just… _god_ this is filling me a lot more than K-Kala's fingers!"

Divine spikes of pain aside, wasn't _that_ an interesting-

"B-bigger!? Why is it… getting b-bigger!?"

"Yeah… I'm not apologizing for that one."

Moaning, Raynare squirmed utop him, unintentionally working his shaft deeper inside her as she did, entry growing easier and easier as her arousal drenched his cock.

Raynare stiffened with a gasp as her hips suddenly hit Yuuji's, the wet slap of flesh filling the air as he hilted inside of her.

Her back arching, Raynare let out a long, breathy sigh, fingers trailing down her breasts as her hips began a slow, subtle grind.

Bringing her head back down with a loving smile, Raynare began to speak, but, as her words failed, merely swooped down for another kiss.

Righting herself, Raynare began to bounce up and down, slowly at first, but seeming to gain a little more confidence every time their hips met.

Her heavy-lidded, euphoric smile, the sweat glistening down her smooth, pale skin, and the rhythmic bounce and sway of her full breasts.

Raynare had never seemed quite so captivating, but-

Yuuji was many things, and _passive_ was not one of them.

Raynare didn't quite seem to understand what he was doing, when he gripped her firmly by the waist, but she definitely _felt_ what he was doing when her thrust down was met by his thrust _up_.

"Y-Yuuji!? That's too- I'm gonna-!"

"I can't be the one having all the fun."

Yuuji said with a smirk.

"Is that- _mmph!?_ W-what you think-!?"

Raynare gasped through grit teeth, her bouncing hips growing more and more desperate in their motion.

"Well... something like that."

By this point, she was riding him so hard that at least one of them was going to bruise, but-

"Y-Yuuji! H-hands! C-can we-!?"

He almost didn't make it in time, trying to puzzle out her frantic gasping.

At the last second, Yuuji released Raynare's narrow waist, and linked his hands with hers.

As if she had been holding on just for that, Raynare slammed her hips down hard, threw her head back, and screamed her release to the empty sky above.

Her walls clenched around him like a vice, and Yuuji hissed as Raynare thrashed on top of him, moaning helplessly as her body shuddered and convulsed.

Rapidly, the shaking pushed him over the edge, but even had he the time to pull out, he doubted Raynare had the presence of mind to let him.

Raynare's eyes shot open wide, and she screamed anew as Yuuji painted her insides with his seed, sending her crashing right into another climax.

This time, their shared release was accompanied by a rush of air, a set of raven wings unfurling with a mighty gust.

As Yuuji slid out of her and laid back, gasping, Raynare's motion slowly trickled down to a series of spastic twitches, as the Fallen Angel slumped awkwardly, baring heaving breasts towards the sky.

Yuuji was still catching his breath when a sudden, stricken gasp sent every sense on high alert.

Pushing off the ground, he caught one glimpse of Raynare's bone-white, utterly still form and snapped his head into the direction her terrified, strangely distant gaze was transfixed upon.

There, drifting slowly to the earth, was a single pitch-black feather.

"No, no-"

Raynare began to shake her head wildly, trembling as she watched the feather fall-

Onto an outstretched hand of iron.

Slowly, Raynare blinked several times, staring at the feather.

The horror faded as the light seemed to return to her eyes, leaving Raynare to stare in wonder.

"History doesn't get to repeat itself, Raynare."

Her gaze followed the feathers path as Yuuji brought it slowly between them.

"Not with this."

Gently, Yuuji reached out and took one of her hands with his empty one, depositing the feather onto it, and then cupped his beneath it.

Raynare watched spellbound as Yuuji guided her hand, making no sound save a tiny inhale of breath as Yuuji placed her hand, and the feather it held, against his heart.

As the trembling began anew, Yuuji reached over with his free hand and pulled her body against his, pushing her head down to rest on his shoulder, and using their joined bodies to pin the feather between them.

"Can't you feel it, Raynare?"

Yuuji whispered as the sobs wracked the fragile form in his arms.

"I'm still here."

* * *

The horizon carried just the faintest hint of gold, when Yuuji returned to the dormitory with Raynare in his arms.

The exhausted young girl had once more slipped off into a deep, contented slumber as he'd held her, but even asleep, her grip on the feather had never loosened, even for a moment.

So, when they appeared in the common room, Kalawarner was there, patiently awaiting their return, and it took only a moment for her gaze to fall upon the precious bundle, cradled against Raynare's chest with all the delicacy one would treat a newborn child.

Yuuji's eyes widened in helpless alarm as Kalawarner shot up from her seat, only to be forced to catch herself with her hands as long legs immediately buckled beneath her.

"Kala?"

Yuuji whispered in alarm, as loud as he dared.

Kalawarner gazed in open-mouthed wonder towards Raynare's clenched hands, before, with a visible effort, she pulled her gaze away to meet Yuuji's.

"You… do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I… yeah, I think I do, actually."

Radiant in its joy, Kalawarner's smile bloomed across her face like the sun emerging from behind the darkest of clouds.

"Then, with all my heart, thank you, Yuuji…"

" _ **Thank you, for saving her."**_

* * *

She wasn't precisely sure _why_ she'd known, but when Yuuji returned to the dormitory, Akeno was immediately aware, and thus, as he made his way up the staircase, she was waiting for him at the landing.

She smothered a sound halfway between a giggle at his slightly dazed expression, and an adoring coo at how tenderly he carried the curled up Raynare.

As he stepped up beside her, Yuuji blinked once, and his eyes regained some of their usual focus.

"I'm back."

"I can tell."

She smiled, leaning forward to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

She held her head there, for a moment, fondly whispering.

"Well done today, my love. Don't worry about Kala, for now, I'll go check on her, okay?"

"Yeah… thanks. Love you too."

Stepping past him with her loving smile firmly in place, she turned her head to call softly back.

"Bed is free, by the way, Rias and I are going to sleep in her room. Have a good night, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Sleep well, Akeno."

Yuuji smiled to himself as one of the wonders of his life sauntered slowly away, leaving him to care for another.

It wasn't something he was all that used to, but that night, Yuuji's dreams were a most pleasant thing indeed.

* * *

Cold sweat running down his spine, he sat up with a sharp gasp, throwing the tangled sheets aside.

Fighting to get his breath under control, staring hard at the stitches in his fingers, the flesh beneath still an angry red.

… That damn dream again.

Before, his dreams were infrequent at best, and they all served the same purpose.

Motivation.

Vali didn't buy into the idea of dreams, at least his dreams, having any actual bearing on the future, but whenever he'd dream of battles, of challenges he'd yet to undertake, he would always swear to himself to one day make them come true.

After all, one of his greatest goals was to one day challenge and conquer the Dragon of Dreams, the Great Red himself.

So defeating the other foes in his dreams made a certain amount of sense, he thought.

Until a single bullet made of wood, nothing more than a glorified splinter, had torn open his face and nearly ripped off two of his fingers.

It had been weeks, and he was _still_ healing.

He was the White Dragon, he could recover from wounds that would kill lesser men in _days_.

Yet in spite of that, the wounds the Unknown Soldier, that Kazami Yuuji had inflicted on him, were still healing, still aching as if his blood still dripped from the skies.

No one outside his team was aware of his injuries, but Le Fay had suggested that maybe 'Mistilteinn' was inhibiting his healing in some way.

From her best guess, it seemed like he was healing at the rate an _average_ human would heal.

Whatever may have been the case, since then, all of his dreams would end the exact same way.

No matter the battle, no matter the foe, someone uninvolved, someone _normal_ , would get caught in the crossfire, no matter how isolated the field of battle, no matter how hard he tried to keep the fight between him and his foe, and no one else.

 _He wouldn't do that, he wasn't like that, he-_

And the moment they did, a specter of iron would emerge from the smoke, and the battle would end.

The ending was always the same.

A once mighty Dragon of white, skewered upon a single, towering thorn and left to die like some exotic insect pinned to a board in a display case.

Writhing and gasping as its life bled away, watching as its impassive killer carried away the innocent bystander, without a backwards glance towards its fallen foe.

 _Look at me, damn you._

He had never really stopped to think about it, but the idea that his death could be so easily ignored was deeply, deeply troubling.

He fully expected to die in battle, it was true, but he had always imagined a glorious end.

He was not afraid of death.

Vali Lucifer could hardly even remember a time that he had _ever_ been afraid of death.

Even a gruesome end like the one in his dreams, while he would admit it was just a little unsettling, did not exactly frighten him, so much as the fact that-

That innocent bystander, that person with no reason to be involved with _him_ any longer…

The identity of that person never changed.

"... I don't get it. What makes you and I so different, Yuuji?"

* * *

As Raynare awoke with a languid yawn, she snuggled more deeply against the warm chest beneath her cheek, burrowing deeply into its soft, squishy-

Okay, so she wasn't very successful with the deeply part, because the chest wasn't really soft, or squishy, it was actually kinda hard and flat, in a 'not a girl's chest at all kind of way', and oh this wasn't Kala-

"Morning."

Came the dull monotone, with just the tiniest traces of warmth if you knew what to listen for.

"Oh, so it was Yuuji's chest all along."

Raynare confirmed as she lifted her head, glad to know the mystery was solved.

"That seems to be the case, yeah."

Yuuji replied casually.

"Hmm… kiss?"

She requested.

"Kiss."

He graciously allowed.

Raynare did just that, once again confirming that kissing a boy was kinda fun, even if their lips weren't as soft.

"Thanks… oh, and, good morning, Yuuji-kun."

She said, breaking the kiss with a smile.

"Good morning, Ray, time to get up and get ready for school."

"School? That doesn't sound like cuddling."

Raynare couldn't help but protest.

"It doesn't, but I don't think you're thinking this through."

Raynare tilted her head curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we have _plenty_ of time to get ready."

"Oh. Oooohhh…."

Dimly, Raynare noted that the bedroom was rather warm, or was it just her?

Yuuji was smirking, so it was probably just her, but…

"T-then, do you think you could, you know after we…?"

Raynare trailed off, flashing Yuuji her best puppy-dog eyes, even as her cheeks burned furiously.

"D-do you think you could b-b-brush my wings?"

* * *

"I was naive to think we wouldn't be late anyways."

"Less talking, more running! Kala-chan's gonna give us the ' Look' at this rate!"

"She might even make us stand in the hall."

"Right!?"

"Yeah, just think of all the fun we could have."

"... Oh no, I'm getting too tired to run. Yuuji-kun will have to carry me, and we'll definitely be late. Oh no, how unfortunate we are."

…

…

"You know, Yuuji-kun, that was supposed to slow us down."

"It was a close thing, to be honest… I kind of wanted to take my time carrying you."

"..."

"Raynare?"

"Ehehe~"

* * *

Well, after thinking long and hard for the past several seconds, and, after examining the scenario from every angle he could think of, Yuuji could confidently confirm that he had absolutely no idea why there was a tear running down Akeno's cheek.

Or why she was smiling while it did so, it always confused the hell out of him that women could smile _and_ cry.

"... Akeno? Did… did I say something wrong?"

He had just finished telling Akeno about the date with Raynare, well, at least as much as he could without infringing on her privacy too much.

"No, of course not."

Akeno reassured with a hug, placing her head against his chest.

"I'm just happy for you, Yuuji-kun. Ray-chan too, I might not know her as well as Kala-san or Asia-chan, but even I can tell that yesterday did her a lot of good."

"... Yeah, the Ray part I kind of figured out, but I don't really get why you're so excited _for_ me rather than _with_ me."

Akeno lifted her head from his chest, and the smile she directed up at him was so joyous and loving that, quite suddenly and quite shockingly, _he_ was the one fighting down the blush.

"Because I know you a lot better than I know Raynare, which means I'm having an even easier time seeing _that you're healing too_."

Yuuji was used to not knowing the right thing to say…

He was a lot less used to not being able to say anything at all.

* * *

"Heya brats! After the break, I'll be assisting my colleague as the assistant advisor for the Occult Research Club! Oh, and ya know, teaching Chemistry, that's cool too."

"... Buchou, I think we're in the wrong room. Let's all quietly leave."

Yuuji suggested, as Rias pinched her nose with a sigh.

"Why, exactly are you here?"

The 'you' Rias was referring to was the man cheerfully reclining in her chair, a man known in some circles as Azazel, the Governor of the Grigori.

"Sirzechs asked me, through Serafall's little sister."

Azazel said.

"Oh, and the glasses brat wanted me to pass on a message for you in specific, Gremory girl."

"Oh, I'm sure this will be good."

"Sure is! The message is, and I quote; 'He's your problem now, and I'm not sorry'."

Azazel recited in a tone entirely too gleeful given the contents could easily be viewed as a snub against him.

Rias let out a world-weary sigh.

"Of course she did. So, what's the part you're not telling us?"

"The condition for my tenure here is that I help the Sacred Gears of the Gremory Devils mature, as well as act in oversight and support of my two official ambassadors."

Azazel said, wagging his finger in Raynare and Kalawarner's direction.

The Fallen in question shifted nervously

It was to be expected they were a bit on edge, he supposed.

They'd been in the 'kill on sight' category amongst their own kind, not all that long ago.

"But mostly I'm going to be meddling with your training regimes, helping everyone get up to snuff. There's no Red Dragon to oppose the now rogue White, so instead we have a Soldier to serve as the Jack to his Giant."

"If you make me famous I'm never taking another request from you again."

Yuuji responded flatly, to which Azazel just laughed.

"Vali has his own team, you know, and it seems like the Gremory Family will be stacked up against them. After all, the ORC, highschool club or not, is currently the only organization of any kind that incorporates a representative from all three factions."

Azazel explained.

"You represent this peace we've worked so hard for, so one way or another, the Khaos Brigade and their ilk will set their sights on you eventually."

Azazel gave a carefree shrug.

"And since Yuuji-boy there forced Vali to retreat in front of the gathered leaders of the three factions, he's probably gonna want a rematch at some point anyways."

A subtle hint of crimson leaked into the air as Rias' eyes narrowed fiercely.

"So, like it or not, you kids are now at the forefront of history."

Azazel's playful demeanor fell away.

"So, I guess you could say my job is to make sure you don't stand at the forefront of history as _martyrs to the cause_."

* * *

Among those present, Rias had protested, leaving only with great reluctance and being patiently steered away by a sympathetic Akeno.

Asia had been worried, but hadn't quite known to express herself, and they had gently waved her away.

Yuuji had lingered by the door, an unspoken question in his gaze, but he too had left with a nod once they assured him they would be alright.

Thus, for the first time, Raynare and Kalawarner found themselves alone in a room with the leader of the Grigori himself.

"The Gremory girl inviting a pair of Fallen into her family home is quite the symbolic gesture, though for her I imagine that angle is secondary at best. You're among the first of our kind to be openly welcomed into the Devil-controlled Underworld for pleasure, rather than business."

Azazel began.

"That, and the fact that it's one of the highest ranking families in the Devil world makes it even more high profile... Well, it shouldn't be something you actually have to worry about all that much, the Gremory's are experts at deflecting any unwanted attention. It's just something you should be conscious of."

No response.

"Alright already, stop being so damn antsy around me."

Azazel said, scratching his head with an explosive sigh as the two women flinched.

"Listen, even on the off-chance that it did come up, I'm not going to ask you to pick between them and the Grigori."

Raynare and Kalawarner froze, clearly not expecting him to state things so candidly.

First off, we're at peace, and I'm going to try my damned best to keep it that way forever, and I'm not the only big wig thinking that way. And secondly, I don't even think that it's a bad thing that we'd lose that decision to begin with."

The two girls shared shocked glances, off-balance and unsure of what direction the conversation was taking.

"That you're working here 'on my orders' is symbolic and nothing else. All the higher ups know that, if anything, you're working for the Gremory Pawn and his master. I don't intend to muck up a good thing with my presence, not when you girls are perfectly happy to remain at Yuuji's side."

At Yuuji's mention, he couldn't help but chuckle as the beginnings of a smile began to fight its way onto each of the girls faces respectively.

"Ya know, maybe it would have been faster for me just to say 'don't overthink things'. Just like with the Gremory Devils and the little Angel, I'll help you girls become stronger, so you're ready to throw down with whatever bitter little relics decide to take pot shots at the family you've fought so hard to find."

Azazel smiled then, and though his smile was tentatively returned, Raynare and Kalawarner's expressions once more gave way to confusion as he stood up and made his way towards the door without any sort of preamble.

"And of course, I'll have your backs if anything you're not ready to handle yet comes your way."

Azazel lingered at the open door for a moment, and while his gaze was still warm, it also carried with it a faintly wistful, resigned air.

"It doesn't have to be anything more than that."

He said, before turning away-

"H-hang on."

Azazel paused, turning back with one eyebrow raised as both Raynare and Kalawarner stood.

Raynare was fidgeting, struggling to meet his eyes, whereas the still silent Kalawarner was fondly watching her companion with a tiny, but proud smile.

"S-so I was a-a little nervous… I mean… w-well Kokabiel is the only other Grigori leader I've met in _person_."

Azazel suppressed a snicker as Raynare realized that what she'd said might be easily misunderstood, and immediately tried to backtrack with her hands waving frantically about.

"N-not that I t-think you two are the same! Err, if it makes you feel any better I was p-pretty nervous around Lucifer too, and he was n-nothing but kind!"

Azazel gave a snort, his attempts to hide his amusement failing.

Still, he wasn't really sure what she was getting at, but maybe, dare he hope…?

"But well, you see, w-we don't really hold a grudge against you, and you've made it clear that you don't hold one against us, so maybe, you know, we could-?"

Dimly, Azazel realized that he might be getting old, because watching the young Fallen fidget and stammer like that really made him want to ruffle her hair for some reason.

"We could… try again? F-from the beginning?"

"... A fresh start, then?"

Azazel asked quietly after a moment.

Bashfully, Raynare gave a tiny nod with a shy smile, while Kalawarner met his gaze without waver before nodding as well.

She couldn't quite hide the hope in her gaze, either, but… hard to blame her, really.

"… I think I'd like that."

After all, even with all his centuries of practice, Azazel was having the same problem.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot."

* * *

Carefully, he placed the finely made saucer and cup upon the desk, stepping away with the tray held neatly at one side.

Taking his place behind and to the side of the desk, he waited dutifully as his father sampled the tea.

"And so how is our young Dragon doing then, these days?"

"Still healing, Outo-san. The rumors are true, the White Dragon is having nightmares brought on by the wounds Nii-san gave him."

"Ah, such a shame, that our bright young Vali would suffer so! Still, I'm rather intrigued. The last time you encountered dear Yuuji-kun was only a few weeks prior, and how would you have rated his chances then?"

 _Of course he only wanted to know about Nii-san._

"It doesn't make any sense for him to be able to stand up to Vali, not in such a short length of time. The Gremory's are way too soft to push Nii-san into any method drastic enough to shorten that gap. Nii-san might be Nii-san, but he's only been a Devil for three months."

 _So what the hell is your secret, Nii-san?_

"Indeed, even with his explosive rate of growth, the power granted by becoming a simple Pawn should in no way account for that."

"Though, I should remind you that we don't have concrete evidence as to how _many_ of the Pawn Pieces were needed to reincarnate Nii-san."

A rich chuckle filled the room as his father conceded the point with a good-natured smile.

"A fair point, though, I imagine you already have your own theories?"

 _Nii-san is strong._

"It's Nii-san. The world's been underestimating the Gremory heiress if she could pull it off with less than 8."

 _Nii-san has to be the best, or else there's no meaning even if I-_

"Haha too true, too true!"

Another sip of the tea, Father's composure returning effortlessly as he mused with a hum.

"Then, it must be, what was the term again? Hmm…"

 _As if you don't know, Outo-san._

"Balance Breaker, right?"

"Ah, yes! That was it, wasn't it? Thank you for jogging this old man's memory."

… _Yeah, I still hate false modesty…_

 _What does Outo-san even need it for?_

 _The strong should just act like it._

"Indeed, there must be something the Unknown Soldier wields that would allow him to narrow the divide between himself and the Vanishing Dragon, if only for a moment. Poor, poor Vali, if only he'd listen to the heartfelt advice of his elders, rather than soaring around half-baked like that."

… _Don't you have enough toys?_

"Ah, but such is the charm of youth I suppose! And indeed, I would have been positively heart-broken had Yuuji-kun been killed off before he could reach his full potential! Which reminds me, I never did adequately thank the Gremory girl for saving him."

… _You'd better hope he never gets the chance to 'thank you', Gremory._

"But I suppose that can wait, for now. Shalba and Loki continue to butt heads, Tartarus is being as elusive as ever, ah, so much to do, so much to do!"

"So what do you want me to do, Outo-san? Am I going back to the Khaos Brigade?"

"For a while longer, my boy. They'll be clashing with your dear older brother soon enough though, so I want you busy elsewhere before then. You'll have a role to play, but I don't want those fools wasting your talents."

… _And there he goes again, keeping us separate._

 _It was fun at first, but I'm getting tired of these games, Nii-san._

 _When will I get to prove that I'm more than just your shadow?_

 _When will Outo-san stop messing around, and just let me kill you?_

* * *

 _Whoosh_

"Oops."

 _Swish_

"Close, but not quite."

 _ **BOOM!**_

"Yeah, I'm glad that didn't hit me."

"Yuuto-senpai, stop moving around so much."

"Sorry, Koneko-chan, but if you want me to do that you're going to have to stop getting stronger. I'm just a Knight, remember?"

Koneko shrugged her shoulders, before once more trying to take the head from _his_ shoulders with a kick.

Idly, Kiba noted as he ducked, their sparring matches were starting to look more and more like some bizarre game of acrobatic tag.

Koneko sent a straight punch at his torso, and Kiba calmly steered it aside just a little with the hilt of his bokken, hopping away from the backhand and-

 _The wind died down in an instant, the air suddenly heavy and still._

"... Koneko, are you alright?"

Something was wrong, the light was playing weird tricks with her hair, and it was darkening in strange-

A gleam of golden eyes was his only warning, and on sheer instinct, Kiba hurled himself airborne, far more movement than necessary to dodge the fierce right hook that Koneko threw his way.

A great roar of air was accompanied by the awful grind of something sharp against stone, and Kiba gazed down below in bewilderment as the clearing beneath him was engulfed in a massive dust cloud.

Wings bared to keep himself aloft, Kiba listened to the crumbling of stone, vainly trying to pick out Koneko's tiny form within the haze.

"Uhh, Koneko? Are you okay down there? You didn't catch yourself in a landslide again, did you?"

These sorts of things tended to happen from time to time, when you could remodel an abandoned quarry with your fists.

"... Y-Yuuto-senpai!? A-are you… okay?"

… Why did she sound almost… scared?

"Yes, I'm alright… cover your face for a moment, I'm going to clear out some of the dust."

"... K."

Summoning Replenish Calm, Kiba let the swirling winds pull the dust up towards him, before redirecting it off to one side.

Below, he found Koneko sitting on the ground, her knees pulled up to her chest.

Quietly, he landed in front of her, and Koneko flinched away, hiding behind her raised legs.

"Koneko? What's wrong?"

"I didn't mean to… I'm sorry... please don't be mad."

Came the quiet, yet desperate murmur.

"I'm just fine, see? Nothing to apologize for."

What _was_ she apologizing for, anyways?

"... You're sure you're not hurt?"

"Yep, just fine. You do know I was just teasing you earlier, right? I'm not _that_ fragile."

Rather than reply, Koneko lifted one hand to point past him.

Curious, Kiba turned to find-

"Oh."

"... Sorry…"

Etched across the cliff face she had been driving him towards were claw marks.

Even the smallest was longer than he was tall, and he was fairly confident he could fit a hand into those gouges.

"Okay, that is… yeah, that's pretty awesome, think you can do it again?"

Grinning, Kiba turned back to find Koneko gaping at him in astonishment.

"Is that a no?"

"You're not… angry?"

"Hmm, why would I be? Maybe a little much for a spar, but it's not like you did it on purpose, did you?"

"No!"

Kiba had to fight back a chuckle.

Even when she yelled, Koneko was pretty quiet.

"I didn't… I l-lost control for a second… got a little… impatient..."

"It's Senjutsu, right?"

"... Yes."

"I see."

Kiba walked over, and calmly extended a hand down towards the seated Nekoshou with a smile.

Koneko turned her head away, but Kiba patiently kept his hand extended.

"You're only just learning how to use your power, so accidents are to be expected. I mean, remember when I was first learning to use Sword Birth, and sometimes I'd summon swords facing the wrong way?"

Koneko giggled at that, almost in spite of herself.

"Mhm… Yuuto-senpai is lucky he has fast hands."

"And that the Gremory's carry lots of bandaids. But see the difference? No one got hurt this time, whether you or someone else, so why don't we just be grateful that everyone's alright, and work on reducing the chances of a repeat?"

Slowly, a tiny hand reached out and gripped onto his.

Kiba pulled Koneko to her feet, and then into his arms, giving the still shaky Rook a reassuring hug that was promptly returned.

"Okay… thanks, Yuuto-nii-san."

"Any time, Sis. Now, looking behind me, the thought occurs that gigantic claw marks in solid stone are sure to start some strange rumors if anyone comes across them."

"Yeah, we should probably…"

Two pairs of eyes met, accompanied by matching smirks.

""Leave it alone, and let people wonder.""

Quiet though it was, echoing laughter lingered through the quarry, long after they were gone.

* * *

"We'll be departing for the Underworld on the Sunday, before our first official day of summer break. That way, we'll be able to wake up in the family home on the first day of vacation."

Rias explained to them, as they were gathered in the clubhouse.

"Also, it seems like a shame to start off what's the first major school holiday for several of you with training, and so I've decided that we'll be spending the first week at my family home."

She continued.

"This will give us all a bit of time to relax and enjoy ourselves before we'll begin our training camp on the weekend. Well, when I say training camp, it won't be the same as what we did before the Rating Game against Riser. While we will be doing some team exercises, most of it will be on a more individual basis, with some exceptions here or there."

"For example, Raynare and Kalawarner will be working side by side under my guidance a fair bit, whereas we have some personal trainers lined up for several of you."

Azazel chimed, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

"Some of the really _scary_ kinds of personal trainers!"

"A-ah… I'll do my best!"

Asia declared, with as much earnest determination as someone thoroughly intimidated could muster.

Azazel turned to Rias with one eyebrow raised, and waved in Asia's direction.

"You really are a Devil, aren't you? How am I supposed to bully that?"

Rias didn't seem to hear his whining, as Rias had screwed her eyes shut tight, and was muttering 'be strong, Rias, you have to be strong!' under her breath.

Having had finished (failing to) harden her heart, Rias gave an elegant cough, continuing on as if nothing had happened.

"The training period will continue for about a week, and after that, we'll be able to enjoy our vacation more freely, though I don't want us slacking off too much. After all, our enemies aren't going to be interested in whether or not we've adequately enjoyed our free time."

Rias declared, the sternness of a King returning slowly to her tone.

"Furthermore, the second to last week will see us attending the Young Devils Gathering. This will be the debut for myself, Sona, and the other heirs of our generation, to Devil Society as adults. Also, this will also be considered the first official appearances of yourselves, the members of my peerage. It's no exaggeration to say that our showing there will influence opinions of us for decades to come, and thus it is vital we put forth a strong showing."

A confident smirk tugged at her lips as Rias dismissively waved a hand, as if their success was a foregone conclusion.

"Of course, there's little fear of you all being anything _but_ exceptional, so be yourselves and I'm sure you'll be fine."

Rias then boldly thrust a finger in the direction of Raynare, Kalawarner, and Irina respectively, haughty smile firmly in place.

"Though you might not be a part of my peerage, I consider you part of the Gremory family nonetheless, so make no mistake, I have every intention of showing you off as well."

Tapping a finger to her chin, Rias gave a careless shrug, after a moment.

"Though I suppose that you being ambassadors for the alliance and your respective factions is important, too."

While her stance might vary _officially_ , among those she was close with, Rias saw no issue in being open about her priorities.

"And, more importantly!"

Rias' poised, almost arrogant demeanor vanished on the wind as she clapped her hands enthusiastically.

"I can't wait to show our newcomers around the Underworld for the first time! Just wait until you see my house, well, it's your house too now, of course!"

The 'meeting' more or less over, things devolved more or less into pleasant chatter after that.

Yuuji could appreciate that they were taking things seriously, and earnestly preparing for an uncertain future.

But… he had to admit, being able to act their age was kind of nice, too.

* * *

"So what did you want to talk to me about alone, Buchou?"

Rias shook her head with a smile, making it clear that it wasn't any sort of official business.

"As you probably already know, Akeno's birthday will be the second day of summer break, the 21st. That's part of the reason I wanted us to leave on the Sunday, it gives us a day to get things ready. Of course, preparations will already be underway by then, but I want the opportunity to take a personal hand in things as well."

"Makes sense to me, yeah. Are we going to have a party?"

"A small one, just friends and family. Akeno doesn't really like it when we make a big fuss over her."

… Yuuji had a feeling that the standards of what constituted a 'big fuss' weren't really consistent here, but oh well.

"But, what I mostly wanted to talk to y-you about was…"

Crimson stained the cheeks of his King, as she coughed delicately into her hand in a vain attempt to remain composed.

"M-more about w-what happens _after_ the party… you know, during the n-night?"

Yuuji nodded for her to continue.

"I think I'll be ready to do…. Y-you know, _that_ with Akeno, but I was wondering if you had any ideas already, Yuuji?"

Rias could freely admit that the tingles she felt, when Yuuji smirked at her, were…

Definitely the _good_ kind of tingles.

* * *

 **Raynare wasn't going to be ready to cross the line with Yuuji, just yet, but then the 'fuck that, no better yet, fuck me' line popped into my head when I was hella tired, and I laughed really fucking hard.**

 **My rule is that whenever an idea makes me laugh really hard, when brainstorming, I try to include it in my writing in some way. For reference, that's why Suu is Asia's familiar, and why the HOTD girls are getting turned into monster girls in another story.**

 **So yeah, I'd say good things happen that way.**

 **Anyways, next chapter is going to be Akeno's birthday (what the hell did they even do for that in canon?), and training.**

 **Both of those are important, for entirely different reasons.**

 **As an aside, I'm having fun interjecting worrying pieces of foreshadowing between all the fluff and sexiness. It's like a friendly little reminder that the M-rating isn't** _ **just**_ **for all the lemons.**


	22. Love, Lust and Longing

**Well, the world's gone a little crazy, so that's partially why this chapter took so long.**

 **For the record though, neither myself nor anyone I know personally has caught our little virus friend, but I do work in at-risk essential services so I've been more busy with work, not less. My hours haven't even changed, they're just packed and leave me drained and unmotivated.**

 **I could have gotten this chapter out well over a week ago, but then I'd have had to blue ball everyone with the cliffhanger, so instead you get my biggest, most lemony chapter yet.**

 **Anyways, this chapter is dominated by the 'official' introduction to the Gremory household, as well as Akeno's birthday.**

 **For my guest reviewer, I'm going to break my own rule a little and outright confirm that the first Kalawarner lemon will be next chapter.**

 **Sorry about that, in retrospect, while the reasons for not doing it made sense, I've been chafing at the bit to write it.**

 **Partially though, the culprits are my own fading hesitancy with writing erotic scenes.**

 **Bear with me, before I wrote Pawn, I'd never even written fan service, let alone full-blown lemons.**

* * *

Rias had probably wanted to make it a surprise, so it wasn't as if he blamed her.

A train taking you all the way to Hell _was_ pretty interesting, if he took a step back and looked at it objectively.

Asking him to actually _ride_ it though?

Well… it was still a train.

Which is why when Rias had brought them all to an underground railroad station run by Devils (not just any Devils, Devils under the Gremory family), Yuuji promptly stopped in his tracks, subtly glaring at the admittedly well-made and elegantly designed locomotive.

Yuuji was mentally trying to estimate travel times, wondering if he could feasibly walk all the way to Hell (while idly noting that the paint on the train was Rias Red), when Akeno suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, Yuuji-kun, you forgot to call JB, didn't you? Cell service isn't very good on the train."

"... Yeah, you're right. My bad."

Of course he'd remembered, but...

"I'll wait with him, if that's okay then, Buchou?"

"Please do. We're ahead of schedule, so take your time. Now, come along everyone, let's get seated while they stow the luggage."

Rias promptly ushered everyone forward, casting a subtle glance of concern to the curiously still Yuuji as she did.

Ruth brushed his fur against Yuuji's leg as he passed, briefly meeting Akeno's eyes, and then, they were alone.

* * *

Akeno had led him to a bench in the underground station, and without any sort of preamble, had seated herself with his head in her lap.

For a while, no one spoke, the Gremory Queen humming softly as she ran her fingers through Yuuji's hair, gently massaging his scalp.

Eventually she spoke, her voice quiet and casual.

"If you're feeling a bit better, please, tell me what's bothering you so much."

"... That obvious, huh?"

"... Your hands were trembling."

"Sorry."

Akeno shook her head slowly, smiling without looking down at him.

"I hate trains."

He admitted eventually.

That, and nothing more.

… Akeno remained silent, waiting patiently.

He didn't want to talk about it.

Nothing was wrong.

He was fine.

"... It's an old story, from the night my parents passed away. Guess you know a few of the details? The background check was pretty thorough, if I recall."

… Maybe he'd changed a little more than he'd thought.

"Only the official version."

Yuuji took the hint for what it was.

"It was after Kazuki died. It was a few months after Mother had taken me and run away from home one night, after that man passed out from another long night of beating his wife and drinking himself to death."

He didn't really understand why the memory made him smile.

No, he supposed that wasn't true anymore…

It had been the first time since Kazuki died that he hadn't felt utterly alone.

"He tracked us down, and well…"

The official report spoke of a battered wife, pushed too far.

"Anyways, a few things happened, and I bashed his head in with a wine bottle."

Yuuji candidly recalled.

It was true, what they said.

You never forget your first kill.

"Mother sent me ahead to the train station, a little pouch full of what little money she'd managed to save up around my neck."

Akeno kept silent, her hand in his hair never slowing.

"I waited for her for… no, I don't really know how long it was, butI eventually worked up the courage to go back. It was a little strange, I suppose, but even with him dead, I didn't really think that I'd 'killed someone'. Guess that goes to show I wasn't much for filial piety, but still I wanted to see my mother."

Yuuji chuckled.

"I didn't really understand why there were lights and sirens, I didn't understand why the yellow tape and the police officers were there. I had been waiting for Mother, and she hadn't shown up, so I had to find her. Was probably the first time I'd moved that urgently, and even when I was just a brat, I was quick on my feet. They... couldn't catch me in time, not before I'd gotten to the living room, anyways."

He went quiet for a moment, lips pursed thoughtfully.

"It's strange, the things you focus on in that split second before the shock hits. I remember wondering 'why'd she use the bed sheet?' when I found her there, swaying from the ceiling fan. And, well, I don't remember much after that."

"... It reminds you of that night, doesn't it? And not just when you're expected to actually _ride_ a train, or am I wrong?"

"... Hit or miss when I hear one in passing, I guess. Maybe just when I'm having a bad day."

Akeno hummed in acknowledgement, lifting her gaze as her stare grew a bit distant.

"I think I might understand, just a little. After my mother died, even the sight of a shrine's gate sent chills down my spine, sometimes."

Yuuji's eyes snapped into focus as he frowned up at her.

"You lived at a shrine, before the dorm."

Akeno nodded casually.

"Part of me still thinks it was my fault. It was a punishment of sorts, a way to keep myself from forgetting what I'd done. But now…"

Her smile was bright and warm.

Because she wasn't that girl… not anymore.

"Now, every time I pass a shrine, I remember the night I showed you my true self for the first time, and I smile."

Her free hand raised itself to her lips, muffling her sultry giggle rather unsuccessfully.

"And then, I imagine myself in that shrine, showing off the love of my life to my dear Okaa-san for the very first time."

Akeno paused for a moment, tapping a finger against her chin in thought.

"Well, that, or I remember that the first time we tried anal was in a shrine."

Uncharacteristically for him, she could recall that Yuuji had been rather evasive as to why a bottle of lube counted as a 'weapon' he could draw forth from Arsenal Memoir.

"I remember the ponytail was good leverage."

Yuuji reminisced.

"Ufufu~ it's a wonder that hairstyle isn't more popular."

"It was a very Devilish thing to do, when you think about it. Go us."

"Mmhm~"

Shaking her head with a pleased smile, Akeno got the conversation back on track.

"But, Yuuji-kun, the point I want to make is… _you're_ the reason I was able to make that change, why I'm able to embrace that part of my past once again."

Well, it wasn't as if she was ready to have anything to do with that man just yet, so she supposed they still had that in common.

"And so I'll do the same for you."

Akeno declared, pushing Yuuji into a seated position so that she could stand, and take both of his hands in her own.

"Yuuji, I have no intention of ever letting you go."

"... Promise?"

Huh, that hardly sounded like him.

"I promise."

"... Alright then… Thanks, Akeno."

"Any time, Yuuji."

He took a deep breath.

"... Alright, I think I'm ready, just… don't leave me behind."

"Never, my love."

* * *

The last time he'd been told to get on a train, he'd walked down the highway for the better part of a week in order to avoid it.

This time, he boarded the train after walking less than fifty paces, and by the end of it, he was so tired that once his head was resting on Akeno's lap once more, he promptly passed out and slept through the whole trip.

So while Yuuji had no idea that a tiny smile worked its way onto his slumbering face and refused to leave, he slept secure in the knowledge that unlike all those years ago, the promise that had been given was kept.

* * *

Yuuji couldn't tell if he was dreaming or just waking up occasionally, but he caught snippets of conversation here or there on the trip.

"... There's sunlight?"

"There is indeed, Asia-chan, you see-"

Never underestimate the power of a beautiful woman's lap-

…

"Never thought I'd end up in Hell… especially when still alive... Irina would be disappointed… shame she couldn't come with us."

"We've made arrangements, Irina will be joining us some time later."

* * *

When he blinked himself awake, Yuuji found himself staring up at Akeno's smiling face, while wondering why his chest was so warm, and strangely heavy.

Not in an uncomfortable way, though.

"Sleep well, Yuuji-kun?"

"Yeah, thanks for that."

Curious, Yuuji raised his head just enough to get a view of what was weighing down.

Who was weighing him down.

It was a who.

A moment later, Koneko uncurled herself with a yawn, sitting up and dangling her legs off the side of his ribs.

Yuuji met her sleepy gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"I was curious."

She admitted.

He waited patiently, and sure enough, after taking a moment to think, Koneko offered an approving nod before hopping to the floor.

"The hype was real, Senpai."

Akeno giggled, and met the gaze of the smiling Rias standing across from them, who was just putting her phone away.

After a moment, Rias nodded quite seriously and said;

"We just need to choose the frame, I already have a spot on the wall in mind."

Yuuji and Koneko met each other's eyes and shrugged.

* * *

They walked through the silver gates that swung sedately open as they approached.

Before those gathered was a sprawling mansion, its walls of polished marble and artfully carved wood dyed a familiar crimson.

"Welcome to the Gremory estate, both my home, and yours."

Rias proudly declared with a sweep of her arm and a fond, welcoming smile.

"Oh, so _this_ is why you don't understand how building size works."

Rias nodded.

"Precisely, this is - wait, Yuuji. What was that you just said?"

"Slip of the tongue."

Teasing Rias aside, the Gremory estate wasn't that large, Yuuji supposed.

… He'd seen bigger cities.

"Was kind of expecting to have a row of maids lined up to greet Rias."

Raynare admitted, scanning the towering structure before them with blatant curiosity.

"That's not happening, because that would be silly."

Rias primly explained.

"Ara, isn't that because you called ahead and explicitly requested they didn't?"

Akeno innocently followed up.

"... It's rare that I can convince them otherwise, but I thought all the attention would be a little much for us so soon after arriving."

Rias admitted without a hint of shame.

"That aside, come, let's-"

Yuuji interrupted.

"Ah, heads up."

The pink crowned blur careening towards them didn't seem to bear any ill intent, but what was that it was yelling?

"IIIIIIAAAAAAAAA-TTTTTAAAANNN!"

Oh, that was the sound of not his problem.

Yuuji deftly sidestepped, steering Asia clear of the impact zone as Rias whipped around to stare.

"A-Amane!? W-wait!"

Huh, those were some solid movements, Yuuji mused, as rather than impact Rias, the pink blur dipped beneath her outstretched arms and flowed around behind her.

There was a brief moment of stillness, where nothing moved save the sudden breeze, and the long, flowing pink hair of the young woman standing behind Rias with her hands behind her back, and a grin on her lips.

She was a bit on the tall side for a Japanese girl, looking perhaps about Rias' age though still being a few inches shorter.

Hair a silky, uniform pink that suggested that that was it's natural color, reaching just to the young woman's legs.

Curvy and long-limbed, with just a hint of sturdiness to her frame that suggested she was used to hard work.

It took him a moment to place why her uniform seemed so familiar, but after a moment he made the connection; she was wearing the same style of maid uniform Grayfia wore, but in black, though her skirt went to only a few inches above her knees, baring white stockings, and she had opted out of the traditional headdress.

Filled it out almost as well, albeit the impression she gave was quite a bit more casual.

Rias blinked in confusion, and the newcomer, grinning all the wider, tapped her on the shoulder, and as Rias inevitably whirled-

"Ria-tan!"

The pink creature exclaimed, pouncing on the Gremory King, as Rias yelped in surprise.

"Ah, Amane! W-wait hehe, it hasn't been that long!"

Rias giggled, wrapping her arms around the giggling woman as their cheeks squished together.

"Mou~ Ria-tan, a week is too long, and you've been gone all spring! If I knew it would be like this I never would have let you kids grow older!"

"Ara, Amane-chan is the type to get lonely easily, isn't she?"

Akeno mused as if it had nothing to do with her, a hand on her cheek and a fond smile on her lips.

That smile only widened as Amane released Rias and slipped behind her, wrapping her hands around to-

"They've gotten bigger, haven't they?"

Akeno looked down in mild but amused surprise as her breasts were casually hefted, Amane muttering her observations quite seriously under her breath.

"Someone's been playing with them and it's not me, interesting hmm, hmm."

Seemingly satisfied with that, Amane released Akeno's assets to bounce and jiggle their way back to stillness, bouncing over to Kiba next.

They locked eyes, and after a moment, Kiba smiled, spreading his arms with a sigh that didn't really seem all that reluctant.

Amane wrapped her arms around him in a decidedly less over-the-top but no less delighted fashion, smiling pleasantly.

"... Nice to see you too, Amane-san."

Kiba said warmly.

"Mmhm, missed you!"

Koneko was next, eyeing the taller girl warily as Amane crouched down in front of her.

… Well, Koneko would seem a lot warier if the corners of her lips weren't tugging upwards.

"Heya, Neko-chan!"

"... Ama-nee."

"... May I?"

After a moment, Koneko nodded, and was immediately pulled into a hug.

"..."

Amane nodded.

"Yeah, me too, Koneko-chan."

After reluctantly releasing Koneko (the struggle was well understood), Amane stood tall, offering a welcoming smile towards the unfamiliar faces, until-

She went still, blinking in surprise for a moment, before a smile torn between awe and joy bloomed across her face.

She had just spotted the tiny blonde shape, taking refuge behind Kalawarner's legs.

Kneeling before him, that same gentle air she'd used with Koneko slowly returned.

"You're Gasper, right? It's so nice to finally be able to meet in person. Suou Amane, Rook of Venelana Gremory, at your service~!"

Gradually, a small smile began to appear on Gasper's face.

"G-Gasper Vladi, Bishop of Rias Gremory. N-nice to meet you too."

Smiling in satisfaction, Amane rose once more to her full height, taking in the newcomers.

"Oh, you must be Kala-chan-"

Kalawarner nodded, looking a bit bemused at the immediate nickname.

"Ray-chan?"

Raynare gave a cheery wave.

"Then that makes you Asia-chan, Ria-tan's other Bishop, right?"

"Y-yes! I'll be in your care!"

Asia said with a hurried bow.

"... Oh Maou she's adorable."

"Right!?"

As the newcomer nodded empathetically along to the words of the proudly grinning Raynare, Amane slowly turned, seeming to catch sight of Yuuji at last.

"Oh, and you must be Yuuji-kun, right?"

That innocent smile was certainly suspicious, and he probably shouldn't shake that offered hand, but if she wanted to tease him a bit he'd play along.

"Yeah, pleasure to meet you, Amane-"

"A-AMA-NEE!? What are you- Yuuji!?"

Smiling as she shook his offered hand, Amane shook it vigorously, and then in the same motion, and still using only one hand, the Rook pulled him from his feet, swung him about her in a circle, and tossed him up in the air.

As he ascended, Yuuji calmly directed his gaze downwards, taking advantage of the better view.

Despite its excessive size, the Gremory mansion really was well designed.

The grounds didn't seem to have any significant blindspots, the roof had several ideal locations for a sniper to set up, and even with the property being surrounded by forest on all sides, there was enough space between the outer fence and the treeline that it wouldn't do any significant force much good.

As gravity began to reassert itself, Yuuji nodded in approval, turning his thoughts to trying to guess whether catching him was part of the plan.

… Odds were good.

Didn't seem malicious, probably just wanted to spook the boyfriend a bit, a subtle signal to watch his steps around Rias and Akeno.

Sure enough, Yuuji fell into Amane's outstretched arms, and given that he was being held like a princess, decided that only one kind of response really seemed appropriate.

"Ah. My hero."

… Not sure why everyone was staring at him like that.

… Did he flub his lines or something?

* * *

"Welcome home."

Grayfia greeted, bowing deeply towards Rias and the others from where she stood, to the side of the open doors.

A playful smile on her face, Amane mirrored the action across from her.

"Thank you, Grayfia. Is Mother available?"

"She will be, she's taking tea in the library lounge. Would you like a chance to freshen up, and allow our new arrivals to see their rooms?"

"We would. Is Father still on schedule?"

"Yes, Ojou-sama, Lord Gremory will be returning to the estate in time to join you for tomorrow's supper."

"Excellent. Lead on, Grayfia."

"Of course."

"Oh, and Grayfia?"

"Yes, Ojou-sama?"

"It's good to be back. I missed you and the others."

Grayfia's polite smile relaxed briefly into something a bit warmer.

"... I as well. Once more, welcome home, everyone."

* * *

The bed had ample space for doing dirty things to cute girls, Yuuji noted.

The desk by the window also looked sturdy enough to hand small arms, and he'd never had a walk-in closet before.

… But what was that small inscription over top the closet door handle?

Looking closer, were those chess pieces?

Akeno leaned forward to whisper in his ear, draping her arms around his shoulders from behind and pressing up against him.

"Run your finger along the chess pieces, and you'll be able to change where the door opens to. The King and Queen are ready and waiting."

"Good to know."

"Don't wait too long to take advantage, k?"

"... No fear of that."

* * *

Leaving Amane to lead the little procession, Grayfia had slowly lessened her pace, exchanging quiet greetings with the other members of the Gremory household as they walked.

At last she made her way to the back of the group, where Kalawarner walked hand in hand with shy little Gasper.

When he looked up at her, she smiled gently and subtly extended her hand towards his free one, carefully so as not to make him feel pressured.

After a moment, a tiny hand reached up and shyly gripped her own, and Grayfia smiled gently down at the young Dhampir.

"It's been quite some time since we've been able to meet in person, hasn't it? Welcome home, Gasper."

"A-ah, thanks Grayfia-san. A-and t-t-thanks for keeping me company, y-y-you know, over-?"

"While I do hope we'll have more opportunities to speak in person like this, I have grown quite fond of our evening video calls."

Gasper slowly nodded, a shy smile on his face as he peeked up at her through his bangs.

"Would you like it if we continued our little tradition?"

"Y-yes please."

"... Thank you then, Gasper. Another thing for me to look forward to."

"Mm!"

Giving his hand once last comforting squeeze, and a polite nod to Kalawarner, Grayfia broke off, returning to the head of the group now that her greetings had been taken care of.

Drifting into a comfortable silence, Grayfia turned her head to find Yuuji giving her an appraising stare.

"... Yes?"

"... Hmm, I'd say it breaks even."

… This should be good, she thought.

"What might you be referring to?"

"The 'professionally cold but secretly gentle' vibe has improved, but you've damaged the 'competent at everything but modern conveniences' impression. You know, by understanding how a video call works."

Yuuji explained earnestly.

"... Is your shock at my use of computers a dig at my age perhaps, Kazami-sama?"

Grayfia asked archly.

"... Your age?"

Yuuji tilted his head in honest confusion.

… She had no intention of admitting that tiny surge of feminine pride at that.

Just because she was likely the oldest present didn't mean she wished to _feel_ like it.

"... Pardon me, then. Why _does_ the idea of me using 'modern conveniences' seem so strange to you?"

Grayfia recovered with admirable grace, the warning tone slipping from her voice as if it had never been there.

"Hmm, dunno why really, just can't wrap my head around the mental image of someone in a maid uniform sitting in front of a laptop or texting on a phone."

"... It is not as if maid uniforms are the only clothing I possess, Yuuji-sama."

"Huh, I guess that does make sense."

Yuuji let a hint of reluctance color his tone, luring in the unsuspecting maid.

"... Why is it that you seem surprised?"

Checkmate.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking that a woman doesn't need a lot of variety when she'd look good in anything."

He was honestly impressed that she managed to make such an abrupt turning away look so natural, but Grayfia hadn't been quite fast enough to conceal that hint of red upon her cheeks.

Yuuji decided that that was probably all the evidence he needed to know that something like a 'summer vacation' was going to be a lot of fun.

* * *

Rias was too family oriented to have kept an older sister hidden all this time, so the process of elimination dictated that the pleasantly smiling woman, seated gracefully upon the high-backed lounge chair was probably her mother.

"Ara ara, there're my darling children~"

Yuuji didn't really have a lot of experience with the existence known as a 'mother' (not that he'd trade JB for anyone, but he was pretty sure that the two of them did things a little differently), but the moment the woman spoke, that this woman was a 'mother' became absolute fact in his mind.

She really did look like Rias, the woman who managed to somehow excitedly rise from her seat in a measured fashion.

A bit shorter than her daughter, and the lines of her body a touch softer and more curved, but perhaps the only obvious difference was that her shoulder-length hair was a gentle flaxen in color, and her large eyes a gentle violet.

She wore a simple white dress, knee-length with a plunging neckline, long white gloves, soft white slippers, and a silver necklace with a crimson jewel at its center.

… With how she carried herself, that relatively simple outfit could have stolen every gaze if seen on the runway, turned every head at any high society social.

Was probably a favorite every time she showed up to anything remotely similar, with that smile of hers.

He nearly had to do a double-take as the woman straightened, folding her hands sedately in front of her and inclining her head slightly in a regal fashion.

"Welcome to our home, and for those of you stepping within our halls for the first time, please, think of them as your own. I am Venelana Gremory, lady of this house, and I would like to thank you for taking care of my daughter."

Slowly, she regarded each of them in turn.

"Hm, now that the formalities are out of the way, I believe we have some important business to take care of."

Before they could say anything, however, the regal air vanished as the warm, welcoming smile returned.

Then the hugging started, and no one was safe.

Rias and her older servants were well prepared, but not even Kalawarner or Ruth were safe from the maelstrom of affection, the tall Fallen finding herself leaning to quite a large degree as her cheek was pressed against the shorter woman's bosom.

… It was baffling how she managed to kneel down and hug a rather confused wolfhound while _still_ looking graceful, or when she hugged Suu without any excessive squishing, or any traces of liquid on her white dress.

Then she was in front of him, and Yuuji was immediately assailed by a feeling of absolute calm as the shorter woman cradled her against him.

She'd probably said something, he was dimly aware that there had been words involved, but mostly he was wondering if Heaven was that peaceful too.

Wait, no, Heaven was dangerous, the analogy-

… Really, really fit.

* * *

He didn't really remember much of the conversation they had with Venelana Gremory.

It had been fascinating in a way, how she managed to draw everyone into the conversation to various degrees, without pressuring or putting anyone on the spot.

Even those as withdrawn as Koneko and Gasper.

At some predefined signal, the lengthy onslaught of overwhelming (but not unpleasantly so?) affection and interest dwindled down, with Rias accepting the polite suggestion that the 'poor dears should relax for a bit, they must be tired after the long trip'.

It was artfully done, he would freely admit.

He almost believed her when the Gremory matron perked up suddenly.

"Oh, I nearly forgot, may I speak with Yuuji-kun a bit in private? I'd love to hear all the cute little stories about him dating my precious little girls!"

She said with a welcoming smile, but she couldn't quite hide the true nature of her intentions.

Most of the room didn't seem to sense anything amiss, filing out with her polite, and temporary farewells leaving a happy glow upon their cheeks.

At least one person saw what he saw, though, and gulped in a distinct, if barely audible fashion.

… Yuuji wasn't sure how he felt, being confident in the knowledge that that knee-jerk and decidedly nervous sound had come from _Grayfia_.

Instead, he felt one of the corners of his lips curl upwards into one of his signature half-smirks.

"Of course… I've been looking forward to this."

* * *

Admittedly, when he was led to the garden and a small gazebo made entirely of polished marble, he wasn't really expecting the first action of Rias' mother to be to bow at him.

"My husband never did mention it, did he?"

She asked, her head still low.

"Thank you, Kazami Yuuji, for saving my daughter from her marriage. It was an old arrangement, one not easily broken, but we deeply underestimated our ability to observe our daughter's true feelings. That we failed to notice just how the idea terrified her will forever remain our deepest shame."

Yuuji kept silent, eyes narrowed.

… Guess he was still a little angry about that, somewhere deep down.

It was faint, but, somewhere far in the distance, something sharp grinded its way to readiness.

… Rias had never really said anything about the manner, and he'd respected her assumed wish to put it behind her and not asked anything further.

"... Will anything like that happen again?"

He settled on eventually.

"Never."

"Then I guess it's fine."

Probably for the best… the next arranged suitor would be sent home in a body bag, anyways.

Yuuji's metallic fist unclenched with an audible creak, and Grayfia relaxed her wary gaze.

"Well then… thank you."

Huh, she really was good at reading people.

Grayfia stepped up then, pulling out a chair for Venelana.

"Please, take a seat."

Venelana gestured with one hand.

As Yuuji seated himself, Grayfia took a step back, positioning herself behind and to the left of the Gremory matriarch.

"So, I understand that it was Akeno that you began a relationship with first, followed by Rias, correct?"

Yuuji nodded.

"So tell me, how'd it happen?"

The inquiry _sounded_ polite and measured, but the smile was eager and the eyes were bright.

"Owed Akeno an apology. Think she might have been teasing, but she requested a kiss, and I'm pretty good at those. One thing led to another, and then we started dating."

Venelana's expectant smile remained for another half second before she realized that yes, that was the full explanation.

Grayfia demurely lifted one hand to hide her smile.

"... And?"

"Huh? What do you mean, and? Oh, you wanted to hear about why I'm dating Rias too?"

"Yes, of course I do… wait, that can't be all of it! You and Akeno shared a kiss, and started dating just because of that!?"

"... Well, like I said, I am _really_ good at kissing... Oh, hang on, you wanted to know about the… what's the word kid's use these days…"

Grayfia averted her gaze as Venelana gaped at him, dropping her formal demeanor completely.

Satisfied, Yuuji snapped his fingers.

"'Feelings' involved, right?"

Venelana nodded eagerly, and Grayfia turned her head back, eyebrow quirked in curiosity.

He hadn't told anyone else, but… as good a time as any, perhaps?

… No, he just wanted to fully impress his feelings upon _their_ mother.

"I guess it was because she was beautiful."

He began.

"I didn't really understand her, to be honest. It didn't make any sense that a woman with a smile that brittle-"

He noted the flicker of surprise.

Truthfully… he'd seen through her from the moment they'd met.

"... Could somehow still manage to seem so vibrant, so alive. It was like she didn't quite know why everyone else smiled, but she had managed to start closing that gap just by trying hard enough."

Yuuji chuckled, unable, but also unwilling to keep the warmth from his tone.

"Honestly, I was pretty damn jealous of her."

The earlier surprise gave way to tender sympathy.

"So imagine my surprise when she stretched out a hand to someone like me. I told you I kissed her because she asked, and it was an apology, but that wasn't entirely true. Mostly it was just me showing gratitude."

Another chuckle.

"Shocked the hell out of me when she thought my offer to 'follow through' meant I wanted to date her. Not because I didn't, but because I couldn't believe she'd _want_ to."

"And later? When she… when Akeno showed you her wings? What then?"

Yuuji smirked, and nodded slowly.

"I was pretty pissed off."

"... Eh?"

"Yep, I was that surprised too. As if anything she could say would make the slightest difference. I mean, the wings were just one more thing that made her unique, how could I not like them?"

"... You really are perfect for her, aren't you?"

Venelana whispered adoringly.

… The garden was warm, he could feel the heat on his cheeks, and why was she giggling?

… Grayfia too, though she was sneakier about it... must be the power of a maid.

"So yeah, I guess that's the story."

"... Oh? There aren't _any_ more details you'd care to share?"

Instead of answering her, Yuuji turned his gaze to Grayfia with one eyebrow raised.

"Hey, Grayfia?"

"Yes, Kazami-sama?"

"... Is telling a woman about kinky things you've done with her daughter socially acceptable?"

"... No, no it is not."

"I kind of thought so, but I wasn't sure. Thanks, Grayfia."

He turned his head back to the patiently smiling Gremory matron.

"Nope, that's everything."

Venelana giggled.

"Ah, I see now why you're so good at keeping my daughters on their toes~"

"I try to keep our relationship fresh and exciting."

"Too kind, fufufu~"

Once she'd stopped giggling, Venelana prompted him once more.

"And Rias? How did things start with her? Of course, just like with Akeno, I've heard all the romantic details from her, but…?"

"Devils having multiple partners is not only normal, but encouraged for anyone who isn't one of the Four Satans."

"I'm aware, yes."

"Well I wasn't, so mostly, the early stages with Rias were incredibly awkward. Felt like a scumbag when I realized she was falling for me, and that I kind of wanted to return those feelings. I was happy with Akeno, though, so I did my best to bury them."

"So what changed?"

"They caught me up to speed, and man was it a shock to find out that those feelings were encouraged."

Venelana kept silent, though her smile widened, just a touch.

"Well, it didn't take long after that. Rias is… I guess I admire her. I feel like I can barely take care of myself, so to have someone so driven that also always seems to have time to take care of others is fascinating to me. Didn't hurt that she was cute, or that I owe her for just about every good thing that's happened since she reincarnated me."

"... Grayfia, I've made a terrible mistake."

"... You have?"

"Why aren't we recording this!?"

"... Milady, I do not believe Kazami-sama would be nearly so candid were we to do that."

…

...

"... Are you sure?"

"Positive, Milady."

"Hmph... Fine then."

Venelana huffed.

"Well, I also want to hear about Asia-chan and Ray-chan, but I want them to be comfortable enough to tell me their side first, so we'll wait on that."

"Sure."

Yuuji shrugged.

"Now, Grayfia, if you'd do the honors."

Grayfia paled.

"... Are you certain, Milady?"

"Mhm, this is important."

"Very well… if you'll excuse me then."

With a bow, Grayfia stepped backwards, before turning on her heel and departing.

… Yuuji was kind of curious as to why she looked just a little pale.

Venelana clapped her hands together decisively.

"... So it's come to this, huh?"

"Yep, I need to know if you can protect my baby girls. I've heard good things, but a mother worries, so I'd like to see it myself."

Yuuji kicked out of his seat and leapt back, a trail of gunmetal dust following in his wake as a handgun materialized in his grip.

Giggling, Venelana rose sedately from her seat, running a finger along the surface of the table as she circled around it.

When her finger left it, the table promptly blew away like dust on the wind, just close enough that a curious Yuuji could reach out and run his hand through the cloud.

He pinched some of the dust between his fingers, and after sniffing it, curiously brought it up to his tongue.

"... Salt?"

"Nowadays, they call me the 'Mother of Ruin'. The name has changed a bit over the years, but can you guess why I might have such a title?"

"... You were Venelana Bael, once. The Power of Destruction that both Rias and Sirzechs wield was inherited from you."

"Indeed, as was Rias' nickname. I was the first 'Ruin Princess', after all. But did you know I had another title, long before I was a mother?"

"... I didn't, no."

"Once, the Angels simply referred to me as 'Gomorrah'. It's an odd sort of quirk that comes with my Destruction, one that's never been seen before."

Yuuji tilted his head.

Sounded familiar for some reason, but he couldn't quite…

"Of course, I've never been able to _read_ a Bible, for obvious reasons, but, just like the stories, nothing is left of my foes but a pillar of salt."

Venelana tapped a finger to her chin, gazing upwards as she pursed her lips in thought.

"At least, when I leave anything of them, that is."

Yuuji took a slow breath, already feeling his pulse race as he readied himself.

Like the sun from below the horizon, crimson radiated out from the Gremory matriarch in a slow, subtle wave as she smirked.

"Now then, Kazami Yuuji… show me that you're worthy of entrusting my daughters to."

The playful giggle suddenly had a far more threatening air.

"And while you're at it… please, for their sake, if nothing more-"

Yuuji flipped the safety.

" _ **Try not to die."**_

* * *

"Heads up."

Grayfia turned around, just in time to slip beneath Yuuji's arm to catch him as he stumbled, through the crumbling barrier of the boundary field she'd set up.

"You know Grayfia, have I ever told you how I appreciate that you've never tried to dissolve me?"

As he asked that, the last scraps of his shirt blew away on the breeze, revealing the faded red patches of skin that looked almost like they'd been scrubbed off.

"... No, I don't believe you have."

The bemused maid answered, supporting Yuuji's weight with one arm, and fishing out the vial of Phoenix Tears that had been stowed away in her apron.

"Well, first time for everything. Thanks, Grayfia."

With that he pulled away, regaining his footing once more and chugging back the potion.

"... How did it go?"

She whispered as his wounds faded and his breathing returned to normal.

"Have all my bones, I think she likes me. Approved of our relationship, so I guess I took the only win I could hope for."

"Ah, I wouldn't have gone _that_ far!"

Protested the still pristine Venelana Gremory, joining up with them.

They must have used a lot of the garden in the battle, if she'd been that far away.

"Besides, you did just fine. You've only been a Devil for a few months, after all."

The Gremory matriarch encouraged, though Yuuji looked kind of like he'd eaten something sour as he listened along.

"Sure, sure. Now I could use a shower and a new shirt, if I could be excused?"

"Hmm, hold on, we haven't dealt with the most important part yet."

Yuuji gave a long suffering sigh at that, which morphed into a stiff sort of confusion as the lady of the house embraced him with a cheerful smile, patting him on the back as she did.

"Welcome to the family, Yuuji."

Yuuji blinked slowly, gradually lifting his arms to return the embrace.

Whatever words he'd been trying to say in response, even he wasn't quite sure.

For some reason, they couldn't quite get past the lump in his throat.

* * *

Her mistress's smile was a bit wistful, as they watched the young Pawn depart.

… She had hoped that he'd been able to move past that, but it seemed it would take time, yet.

Grayfia had seen it once before, when Zeoticus-sama had welcomed Yuuji into the family.

… Until now, it had been the only time she'd truly seen him flinch.

A subdued sort of tremor, like a frightened child doing his best to remain as still as possible.

… And also, just like the last time…

It brought with it a peculiar sort of ache, deep within her chest.

With a quiet sigh, Grayfia turned her attention back to the Gremory matriarch, giving a small bow of apology at having neglected her duties, if only for a moment.

The sad smile vanished from Venelana's lips then as she perked up abruptly, spreading her arms low at her side and giving a girlish little twirl as Grayfia inspected her.

Though she'd had hopes, it was as she'd expected.

Not a single strand of silken hair out of place.

That artful hint of makeup, unmarred.

Not a speck of dust upon her necklace.

The hem of her dress unruffled, her white gloves as pristine as ever.

Her delicate white slippers, neither scuffed nor smudged in the slightest-

Venelana giggled in delight as Grayfia was forced to do a double-take.

Her delicate white _slipper_ was neither scuffed nor smudged in the slightest, but her other slipper nowhere to be found, and her dainty foot was covered instead by streaks of soot, dirt, and slowly closing tears in the skin.

"Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, Fia-chan… and you know, I do believe that I'm going to be very, _very_ disappointed in my girls if they let a clever boy like that slip away."

Venelana giggled once more, before her expression grew solemn.

"Though, I do hope that they can continue to be as good for him... as he is for them."

* * *

It was at the dinner table when Yuuji was reunited with the rest of the group.

Rias was seated to the right of Venelana, at the head of the table, with Akeno by her side.

Dinner was a relatively quiet but pleasant affair, as it was mostly the members of the dorm seated, even the more shy members of their little family could enjoy themselves at the large table without feeling too self-conscious.

Akeno had commented that this was only one of several dining rooms within the manor, the one prefered by members of the family to enjoy meals in less formal settings.

The main dining room was more accurately a dining _hall_ , so it was a bit much for everyday use.

Made sense to him, Yuuji supposed, but mostly he was wondering why Akeno and Rias seemed to be waiting on something, and how their side-long glances to Venelana seemed to carry just the faintest hint of nervousness.

… Come to think of it, they'd probably wanted more details about his earlier talk with the Gremory matron, beyond 'pretty good I think'.

They both straightened almost reflexively as Venelana finished her meal and lowered her utensils.

"So, girls."

The smiling woman asked.

"... Yes, Oka-sama?"

Rias answered hesitantly on their behalf.

"When can I expect grandbabies?"

The spluttering and the blushing was as cute as always, but later, Yuuji would freely admit that the dreamy smiles and glittering eyes that appeared gradually among several faces around the table made him feel inexplicably nervous.

… That hadn't been the thing that stuck out to him the most, though.

For just the briefest of instant, from where she'd stood dutifully in attendance of her mistress, he could have sworn he'd seen a flicker of pain cross Grayfia's face.

* * *

"This is a kidnapping, get dressed and get your shoes."

This is what Yuuji had greeted her with, after her good morning kiss that was.

"Ara, a kidnapping so soon? And here I was praying that I'd be safe from marauding ne'er do wells within the Gremory estate."

"Given that you're a Devil, the praying part was probably where things went wrong."

"Must have been. So, where are we going? Not that I'm going to complain if we're going on an impromptu date, but I didn't really expect to be able to sneak away so soon."

Akeno asked, as she began to get dressed.

"Neither did I, but for some reason there's certain people who don't want you stumbling across certain things being set up for a certain day, so you could say that a certain man is taking advantage."

Opting not to immediately reply, as she'd finished getting dressed, Akeno instead showed herself off with a slow, playful twirl, smiling happily as Yuuji's appreciative smile told her loud and clear just what he thought of her outfit.

Akeno had chosen a loose, striped kosode of two-tone blue, and while Yuuji though the high-waisted skirt she wore was meant to be a dark-grey hakama, he was pretty sure that a hakama was meant to cover a lot more than a few inches of the upper thigh.

She had been reaching for a delicate pair of sandals, at first, but a quick, appraising glance over her shoulder in his direction led to her shaking her head, apparently picking up on some unspoken signal he didn't know he was giving.

Instead, knee-length black socks like she wore with her school uniform went on, to be covered by, tan, laced leather boots of similar length.

" Well? Take away- oh! Ufufu~"

Akeno found herself quite suddenly swept off her feet and into Yuuji's arms, laughing quietly with delight as she looped her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek.

As she snuggled in against him, Akeno noticed that the hand belonging to the arm tucked beneath her legs was holding a slip of parchment paper, with a Gremory magic circle etched across it.

Before she could ask, it faded to Yuuji's gunmetal grey, and dissolved.

A grey portal flared to life beneath them, which Yuuji took the opportunity to explain.

"Not sure I could pull off bringing us back to Earth, so I asked for a hand."

"Oh? We're going back to the human world, are we?"

Now she was even more curious, but;

"Yeah, that seems to be the case."

Whatever he was planning, Yuuji wasn't dropping any more hints.

Rather than protest, Akeno busied herself with snuggling up against her boyfriend as the teleportation circle whisked them away.

She liked to think she had her priorities straight.

* * *

… Akeno had the feeling there was probably more going on, but she honestly wouldn't have minded if they just ended their little expedition right where they were.

That being Yuuji's bedroom, the portal having brought them to the entryway of the dorm.

Calmly she sat on the bed, idly bouncing her crossed leg as she waited for Yuuji, who had stepped over to the closet.

She was getting more and more curious as he stepped in front of her with what seemed to be a folded strip of fabric in one hand, and offered her his empty one.

As he pulled her to her feet, Yuuji told her to turn around, and when she did, he leaned up against her to whisper in her ear.

"Close your eyes."

A pleased shiver ran through her at the warm breath against her ear, and Akeno did just that, trying her best not to seem _too_ excited as the strip of fabric was revealed to be just what she'd hoped;

A blindfold.

Turning her about and taking both of her hands in his own, Yuuji pulled gently, leading her into a slow forward walk without saying a word.

There was a rush of air that teased a whisper of magic across her skin, and then a fresh breeze brought with it the scent of the forest.

Yuuji released her briefly, only to duck against her, pulling her arms over his shoulders and lifting her into a piggy-back.

Akeno took a few minutes to enjoy the feeling of her breasts pressed up against Yuuji's warm, muscular back before she decided to break her silence.

"We're going… up a hill?"

"Yeah, I'd originally planned to just walk with you and then blindfold you a bit later, but then I remembered that I like carrying you."

"Mm, I think I like this new plan better as well."

Akeno agreed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

It was funny how something so simple and not especially romantic could make her feel so safe and loved.

She found it a bit difficult to measure time like that, but after what she thought was around a quarter of an hour, Yuuji came to a halt, just as their pathway seemed to even out.

Gently, he let her down, and softly told her;

"This is something I've wanted to share with you for a while, but even if it's a day early, today seemed perfect for it."

Akeno was itching with anticipation as Yuuji reached up and slowly untied the blindfold before stepping aside, so that she could better see the surprise he'd been waiting to share.

Her hands flew up to her face, not quite managing to catch the awed gasp that slipped free as Akeno's vision returned.

On its own, the small, homey log cabin would have garnered a similar reaction, nestled within a clearing at the summit of a small, but densely wooded mountain.

Bathed by the warm rays of the midmorning sun, to her eyes, it seemed both welcoming and somehow… separate, as if the cabin doors hid away a secret, private little world…

That she'd just been invited into.

Because while she had never been on this mountain, never seen this cabin even in pictures, this, this was the cabin where Yuuji had lived, once.

The home he and Asako had shared, and now, even if it was only for a little while, Yuuji had brought _her_ there.

" I guess you do know what this means, huh? Well, don't just stand there, let's go inside… Akeno?"

… Well, he thought she'd appreciate it, but-

Yuuji's thoughts, and his next words were suddenly cut off.

Given that Akeno had done so by pulling him into a searing kiss that left them both breathless, he must have done something right.

* * *

"Ara ara, are those bullet holes in the ceiling?"

"Not many people can argue over gunfire."

"... Was that?"

"JB? Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"It was JB!?"

"She has a temper sometimes."

Shaking her head in amusement, Akeno continued wandering around the well-kept interior of the cabin, which was bigger than she'd initially expected.

She'd imagined it to all be more or less one room, and while it was true that the kitchen and the living room weren't really separate, there was a bedroom, and the bathroom was home to a traditional wooden bathtub made of cypress.

At last though, she made it to what she'd decided would be her final destination from the moment she'd walked through the door.

There, on the dresser, sat an old photograph propped up in its dark wooden frame.

Three figures stood together, a pair of women with a hand on the shoulders of the boy standing in front.

With her long, wavy blonde hair, bright blue eyes and suit and skirt combo ( though Akeno noted it was a bit more conservative than she was accustomed to, all the buttons done up and a tie in place of her necklace), JB was easily recognizable.

With a friendly arm slung around the blonde's shoulder, a tall, athletic Japanese beauty with her blue hair in a high, functional ponytail grinned at the camera, dressed in a straining navy tank top and fatigues.

Kusakabe Asako.

This was the first time Akeno had been able to see a picture of the woman, she wasn't sure if the little clay statue Yuuji made counted or not, though she could now appreciate what a faithful reproduction it was.

And lastly, there at the front with dull dark eyes and vaguely sullen frown, was-

"Can't say I'm a fan of that picture. The brat with the dead eyes kinda pisses me off."

Yuuji admitted, slipping up to embrace Akeno from behind.

"You, and the boy in the picture, they're not the same person. Not anymore."

"Huh… I guess they aren't, are they?"

"I would have loved the chance to get to know Asako, and more importantly thank her."

"Thank her?"

"If it weren't for her, you and I might never have met. Asako, and JB as well... Words can't quite describe just how grateful I am."

With her back turned, Akeno wasn't able to see how the flicker of surprise across Yuuji's face was replaced by pursed lips, almost as if he was trying to hold in laughter.

"... That would have been fun to see. Despite how confident she was with just about everything, Asako never did quite figure out how to handle gratitude."

Yuuji admitted, keeping his tone carefully neutral.

"Hmm, that kind of reminds me of someone."

Akeno pondered aloud, one slender finger against her chin.

"Probably coincidence."

Yuuji blandly replied, before blatantly changing the subject.

"Anyways, there was another important thing I wanted to do, while we were here."

Akeno pulled from his grasp, turning to face Yuuji as he stepped back and offered his hand.

"Would you... like to meet her?"

A warm, tender smile blooming across her face, Akeno took his hand in her own.

"I'd be honored."

* * *

They were kneeling in front a pair of small headstones, the taller of the two carved with simply 'Asako'.

They'd been silent, until then, Yuuji merely gazing at the stone with a fond, wistful smile.

Akeno gave a little start as a hand fell on her shoulder, which, perhaps fittingly, caused her to straighten further as Yuuji quietly introduced her to his master.

"Been a while, hasn't it, Asako? There's someone I wanted you to meet."

The wistful air vanished, and Akeno was forced to avert her eyes, ducking her head bashfully to conceal the furious blush that bloomed, in response to the proud smile that spread across Yuuji's lips.

"This is the girl I fell in love with, Akeno. I'm sure you two would have been great friends, and…"

Yuuji's proud smile morphed into a mischievous smirk, and Akeno let out a little squeak of surprise as he pulled her against him, tilting his head to rest atop her own.

"And you know, I really wanted to thank you, Asako."

Akeno whimpered, covering her face with both hands as Yuuji deliberately dragged his words out.

"If it weren't for you, her and I might never have met. Jb already knows, but… words can't quite describe just how grateful I am."

…

…

Well, she'd probably need a few minutes, Yuuji decided, and so he reached across to the other grave, the smaller one with the red collar sitting on the ground in front of it.

"Hey, John, long time no see, girl. Thanks for keeping an eye on Asako while I was gone."

Yuuji smiled gently as he rubbed the top of the grave, just as if he could still pet his companion.

"Got a new dog, his name is Ruth. He likes small cute things, so you two would have gotten along just great, I imagine. He's a lot bigger than you, but he wouldn't have made a fuss about being the junior in the relationship."

Yuuji chuckled quietly as he pictured that, a little collie imperiously leading about the towering black wolfhound that followed attentively behind.

… Huh, that was strange, he could have sworn his chuckle had an echo, but it seemed more like a giggle-

Then he was bowled over, straddled by a dark-haired beauty who giggled bewitchingly, her cheeks flushed with heat and her glittering violet orbs burning into his.

For a brief moment, they simply stared at each other, no sound between them but the sound of Akeno's breath, low and laden with arousal.

Slowly, Akeno's soft hands gripped him by either cheek.

Then she dove in like a striking snake, hungrily claiming his lips with her own.

It was a wet, sloppy kiss that at times made Yuuji wonder if Akeno was seriously trying to eat him, her tongue lashing about his mouth whenever she wasn't nibbling at his lips.

It was actually pretty hot, Akeno messily indulging in a furious outflowing of emotion, but he wasn't sure if this was really the place…

Yuuji's hands cupped handfuls of Akeno's firm rear, and gave a meaningful squeeze to get her attention.

It worked like normal, in that Akeno stopped kissing him, but utterly failed in not escalating things.

Akeno tore her lips away from his and arched her back like a drawn bow, screaming convulsively.

She held that pose for a moment before collapsing on top of him in a limp, gasping heap, her chin resting awkwardly against his shoulder thanks to Yuuji twisting just fast enough to keep their faces from smacking together.

Blinking in a daze, Yuuji slid one hand up to gently rub the quivering girl's back.

"... Someone's sensitive today."

Akeno buried her burning face into his shoulder and mumbled.

"... Say again?"

"S'not my fault… blindfolded me and didn't take advantage…"

Akeno murmured defensively.

"... Ah, yeah, guess that was my bad. We haven't tried blindfolds yet, have we?"

"Was really hot, being at Yuuji's mercy like that… would have gone crazy if he'd touched me more."

Akeno admitted.

Well, that was good to know for tomorrow…

"Sorry about that. Come on then, let's get you inside and cleaned up."

"... Carry me? Don't wanna…"

"Sure."

Yuuji pushed them both up into a sitting position, easily getting his legs beneath him and rising to his feet with Akeno in his arms.

Looking back at the gravestone, Yuuji decided he'd pour the drink out for Asako later.

She wouldn't mind, but…

Well, he probably shouldn't mention to Akeno that Asako would have found their little mishap hilarious.

… He could almost imagine that raucous laughter on the breeze.

* * *

Akeno still seemed more than a little ashamed, as she sat naked and hunched on the bathroom stool.

Much as she liked to experiment, Akeno had a deep respect for tradition, so it wasn't hard to imagine why she was still a little shocked.

… He wasn't about to let their visit be tainted by that memory though, because, awkward though that little accident might have been, no real harm was done, and this was kind of a really big deal for him.

Today, he had brought Akeno to what, to him, was the single most important place in the entire world.

Which was why it was time to follow a very different kind of tradition.

Reaching past her, Yuuji hooked the shower head back in its place now that he was finished rinsing off the two of them, and helped Akeno to her feet.

She still wasn't really paying attention to much of, well, anything, which was why he caught her completely off guard as, rather than lead her away to the tub, he pushed on her upper back and walked her forward.

"Y-Yuuji? W-what are you-"

Akeno's voice cut off with a sharp inhale as he forced her to lean, pressing her chest against the tall mirror built into the wall, and forcing her to turn her cheek to keep from bumping her nose against the glass.

Akeno shivered at the sensations of the glass against her nipples, the mirror just a little cooler in temperature than the rest of the room.

Akeno lifted her hands to steady herself, soft skin squeaking against the wet glass as she looked back at Yuuji with one eye.

Yuuji casually cut her off as she opened her mouth to speak.

"You know, this is the room where I had my first time. Learned all about how to treat a woman, and I also learned exactly how to take a girl's mind off of anything that wasn't me."

Akeno went still, her one visible eye clear, and her cheeks flushed with anticipation as the implications of his possessive claim set in.

"That's the nice thing about mirrors."

Yuuji said, pausing to enjoy the sound of Akeno's surprised shriek turning into a low, trembling moan as he pressed against her, and then _into_ her in one smooth motion.

"This way, we both get to see all the slutty faces you're going to be making."

* * *

In the end, he ended up having to carry her down the mountain as well.

Neither of them really minded.

* * *

It had been a strange and nostalgic sort of experience, taking a bath with her Nee-sama.

It had been a long time since anyone other than Buchou or Akeno-nee-san had washed her hair, and this time, she didn't need to feel jealous of the older girl, since seeing Nee-sama without clothes gave her hope that _she'd_ look like that once her growth spurt hit.

Well, she knew she wouldn't look _entirely_ like Nee-sama, since Nee-sama was the prettiest girl in the entire world (she took a moment to internally apologize to her adoptive older siblings, but she'd be honest with herself), but at least she had hope she might (would) grow a little (lot) more.

Now they were wrapped in their towels, and a humming Nee-sama sat behind her, a blissful smile on her face as she ran the brush though her much shorter hair.

"Nyaa, Shirone, looks like your stripes have almost finished coming in."

Her big sister commented idly, both of them having lowered the enchantment that concealed their true hair colors.

The stripes had been coming in faster, Koneko could admit.

Nothing on her ears or tail, just yet, but the black strands of her hair had been increasing in number, and in a fairly uniform fashion.

The black patches weren't quite thick enough that she'd call them stripes, just yet, coming in in lines about the width of her pinky finger.

Whereas Nee-sama's were-

"... They've gotten wider."

Koneko commented, looking back at her sister.

"Hmm? Ah, yeah, they have, haven't they?"

Kuroka replied casually, running her free hand through her own unbound hair.

Before, her Nee-sama's stripes had been about thumb-width, but to her eyes, it looked almost like the stripes in her hair had paired up, she had about half the number now, but they were double the width.

More importantly, that casual tone had been faked, and Nee-sama wasn't meeting her eyes in the mirror.

"... You're okay, right?"

She cringed a little as Nee-sama flinched, she hadn't meant to sound that worried, even if she kind of was.

"N-nyo I'm fine, promise! It's not that at all, it's just that, well… you see… hehe."

She did see.

… If she was supposed to once again see that a flustered Nee-sama was a cute Nee-sama, that was.

Slowly, she let one eyebrow raise as Kuroka fidgeted, her tails swishing to and fro.

"You see, that training camp that's happening in a few days is mostly just going to be the two of us, nya. And, well, this Onee-chan may have gotten sort of a little excited, and maybe worked sort of really hard getting ready, and she may have overdone it and almost earned her third tail?"

As Nee-sama trailed off with an awkward laugh, Koneko remained silent, carefully pondering what she'd heard.

"... Nee-sama's the best, nya."

She settled on eventually, not noticing the addition to the end of her sentence.

Kuroka did, though, and went rigid, eyes widening and tails going straight and stiff.

"... Shirone just nya'd… that's the cutest thing Onee-chan has ever heard… is this Heaven?"

"Heaven's dangerous Nee-sama, stay here."

Koneko huffed.

… It wasn't that big a deal, was it?

Slip of the tongue.

Of course, Nee-sama saw right through her, and shook her head with a teasing giggle.

"Nyahaha, cute little Shirone~"

"Hmmph."

"Teasing aside, it actually is a good thing, Shironya."

"... What is?"

"The verbal tic isn't something I do on purpose, you knyow? It's been happening more often the more I use my powers. So I'm pretty sure it's the same for you, you're embracing your heritage, and becoming more like a cat in some ways."

"Is that why I've been taking more naps?"

"In the sun?"

Kuroka suggested in a knowing tone.

Koneko nodded.

"Yep, that's probably it, nya."

Kuroka agreed, before an excited smile spread across her face.

"That means more Shironya cuddles!"

Koneko blushed, but after a moment, nodded shyly.

… Her naps _did_ seem to feel better, lately, when she had someone warm to snuggle with.

… Maybe embracing her feline side was helping her in more ways than one.

* * *

Rias was the one with the reputation for it, and she herself was guilty of it just as often, though she had always found being sneaky about it fun, which the younger peerage members seemed to enjoy as well.

So it wasn't really known that every member of Rias' original batch of servants all had a fairly high degree of proficiency in the Gremory's specialty.

That was, spoiling the hell out of the people they cared for.

Which was precisely why moments after Rias and Yuuji had kissed her awake, and they'd gotten themselves more or less decent, Akeno heard a knock at the door, and shortly then after found her bedroom door being slowly opened, to reveal Kiba in a butler uniform.

With a smile and a polite, elegant bow, he stepped to one side, holding the door for Koneko and Gasper (both in maid uniforms, but the proper kind, and not the kind she was planning to wear for Yuuji at some point), as they steered in a laden serving cart.

Politely she received them, doing her best not to giggle or hug-smother the adorable little maids as they served breakfast in bed, but fighting back giggles turned to fighting back tears when Gasper managed to get through the whole spiel and present his 'Onee-chan' with breakfast without even stuttering once.

He'd even properly looked her in the eye, and she _knew_ how big of a step that was for the shy little Dhampir.

… Rias, ever attentive to her servant's needs, briefly took the tray from her lap so it wouldn't be in the way of birthday hugs.

She'd spent less than an hour of her birthday awake, and already, Akeno's heart was full to the brim.

… Today was going to be a wonderful day.

* * *

Her two lovers tag-teamed her in the bathroom, which was a lot less kinky, but just as wonderful as she'd imagined.

She hadn't had any luck figuring out how he did it, and he seemed to be the only one who could, but when Yuuji worked his fingers across her upper back, before she knew it, her wings were unfurled, and naturally, he was on the side with the feathers.

"Well, since your wings are out, would you like me to brush them for you?"

Yuuji blandly offered with that smug half-smirk of his, as Rias, not paying the exchange any mind, calmly guided her onto the bathroom stool and began running a brush through her midnight river of hair.

"Ara ara, well, I'll trouble you then if you don't mind, Yuuji-kun."

"Sure."

Decisions made, they didn't talk much, after that, the only sounds were that of the brushes doing their work, and someone gently humming a slow, but happy tune.

Oh.

… That was her.

* * *

She wasn't much for large gatherings, even if she could easily make a good showing and enjoy herself in the process.

… Oh, come to think of it, the Young Devils Gathering would be the first large social event she'd attend as a taken woman… would be nice to have a less vague reason to turn down all those shallow propositions she was used to getting from all those self-absorbed nobles looking for another trophy.

And, while she'd never cheapen their relationship by _deliberately_ inciting jealousy, jealousy of Yuuji was bound to crop up regardless of what she did.

Which carried with it a different sort of pleasure, because by the Maou was Yuuji hot when he was feeling territorial.

… Then again, Yuuji was hot no matter what he was doing, so he was probably going to get quite a few…

"Akeno, you're sparking."

"Oops."

"... Something I should know about?"

"We're going to be busy girls, aren't we, Buchou?"

"... Let's just kill them."

Rias blinked in confusion, not having the slightest clue as to what had prompted her own response, and feeling a bit sheepish as everyone stared at her in surprise.

" … Akeno, what exactly were you thinking about?"

"Secret, ufufu~"

* * *

A lovely violet and black kimono from Rias.

A tea set from Koneko and Gasper.

That one paired well with the blend of tea leaves from Kiba, that he'd been nurturing in secret in the Kuoh Academy greenhouse all semester.

A feather grooming kit from Raynare that was popular among Fallen women, and a book on herbal remedies that could be brewed into tea from Kalawarner.

How she'd managed to get one from one of the _Yokai_ , Akeno was sure was quite the story, and the tone Kalawarner took when offering to share some other time suggested that the story was going to be _fun_.

A flower hairpin from Asia, coordinating with Rias' gift.

Xenovia's gift had surprised her, an omamori, a traditional Japanese charm, though the blessing on this one in particular was less traditional in subject matter, but very much in line with Xenovia character;

Victory in battle.

Later, Xenovia had confessed that her first thought had been a religious charm of some kind, but it had taken her some time to investigate which would be beneficial rather than harmful to Devils.

Her breath had caught in her throat when Yuuji presented his gift, a set of black feather earrings that he had custom-made using one of _her_ feathers as a mold, though the earrings were quite a bit smaller than the feather he'd used.

The _other_ gift he alluded to provoked a very different sort of reaction from her, and, even though he whispered carefully enough that no one else could overhear, she still caught that hint of pink upon Rias' cheeks, and left Akeno wondering just how the red-head factored in.

* * *

After their little lunch gathering, she'd been a bit surprised to have Gasper tugging quietly on her sleeve.

"Akeno-onee-sama?"

"Ara? What is it, Gasper-kun?"

"D-do you have a minute to t-talk?"

"Yes of course, what did you want to talk about?"

Gasper shook his head, eyes darting around nervously.

"C-can we talk in p-private?"

Smiling reassuringly, Akeno gently took the small boy by the hand and led him away, ducking down a side hall to an empty lounge.

Sitting beside him on the small couch, Akeno waited a moment for Gasper to gather his thoughts, curious and perhaps a tiny bit concerned as to why he was so nervous.

"Take your time, Gasper-kun. Whenever you're ready to talk."

It took a few minutes of fidgeting, and one or two false starts before the young Bishop took a deep breath and began to speak, not quite meeting her eyes.

"N-now that… Yuuji-senpai knows, are you a… a little more comfortable? Y-you know, a-about your… h-heritage?"

Gasper asked tentatively.

"... You mean about being half-Fallen?"

Gasper slowly nodded, eyeing her cautiously.

"... Yes, I believe I am. Perhaps not entirely, but enough to start honestly facing that side of myself. Maybe you don't know yet, but over the summer break I'll be training with Raynare and Kalawarner, and learning to use my Light-based powers."

"R-really!?"

His loud tone made her worried she'd frightened him, with her mention of Light, but that worry vanished behind the warm fuzzy feeling Akeno was struck by, when Gasper turned to face her fully, a bright smile on his pale face.

"That's great! I-I'm happy for you, Akeno-onee-sama!"

"Ah… thank you, Gasper-kun."

Akeno smiled fondly back, honestly touched by his excitement on her behalf.

"... W-well then, t-that makes saying this a l-little easier."

Oh?

She wasn't sure where he was going with this, but it obviously took a lot of courage, so she would respond as earnestly as she could.

"W-well y-y-you see… I've k-k-kinda thought this for a while... but I w-was worried y-you'd be mad…"

… That seemed unlikely, she wasn't sure she had it in her to be mad at Gasper.

Instead she just smiled encouragingly, wordlessly prompting him along.

Gasper took a deep breath.

"W-well I always t-t-thought h-having someone else i-in the p-p-peerage w-w-who was half-human, and h-half something else w-w-was k-kind of comforting… m-m-made me f-f-feel l-less o-out of place, n-n-not that I t-think you're strange or anything! I-it's j-j-just b-b-being a Dhampir i-is hard to t-t-talk about, w-w-which is why I always f-found you easier to…"

Gasper trailed off awkwardly, as he realized she had gone completely still.

"Akeno- eep!"

Akeno still had her arms wrapped around him when Balor faded, leaving him blinking in surprise at the tender embrace.

"... You know, Gasper, I've been ashamed of my heritage for so long that I never once considered that something good might come of it… did you really mean it? That it was comforting, to have another half-human in the peerage?"

Gasper reached up and hugged the much taller girl back.

"Y-yeah… Y-Yuuji-senpai m-mentioned that you m-might like to hear that so… I've been w-working up to it f-for a while, b-b-but I thought that today m-might be a good… day?"

"It was perfect, Gasper-kun. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Mhm!"

After a moment, Akeno shifted her grip, holding Gasper at arm's length as she smiled teasingly.

"Ara ara, if my adorable little brother is this charming now, his Onee-sama is going to have a lot of work chasing off all the women he charms when he's older."

The admittedly mild tease slipped out before she could stop it, and Akeno winced internally, hoping that Gasper wouldn't-

Gasper stiffened, twitched, and then quite woodenly averted his gaze with a nervous smile.

… No way.

"Akeno-onee-sama."

Gasper asked in a remarkably clear voice, even as he wouldn't meet her gaze.

"... Yes, Gasper-kun?"

"... H-how do y-you know if… if you…"

Oh Maou, was he?

He couldn't be…

Gasper whipped his head back around and, in the most determined tone she'd ever heard from him, demanded in a half-shout;

"H-how do you k-know if you l-like someone!?"

He was!

This was the best day ever!

* * *

Dinner was a wonderful affair, if a bit less intimate.

Zeoticus Gremory had returned home, just as expected, and Sirzechs had returned from the capital.

He wasn't the only Satan in attendance, as Serafall had sparkled in at the side of Sona and her peerage in a magical girl costume (no prizes for guessing what her gift was, but this time, she'd get to see how Yuuji enjoyed the outfit, and wouldn't _that_ be fun).

Kuroka had been persuaded by Koneko to make an attendance, which was nice and served the alternate but vital purpose of allowing her to get a better sense of Kuroka's suitability.

She'd have to put an extra check-mark beside Kuroka's name on the list, the girl was ready and willing, had cat ears, fluffy tails and great boobs, and would help keep Yuuji on his toes with her mischievous nature.

Though, Kuroka was still trying her best to behave and not rock the boat _too_ much, given her technical status as a prisoner (they were hardly even pretending that was true by now, but oh well), so she wasn't acting _that_ mischievous, but...

Akeno could recognize one of her own.

That being said, while she was having fun…

Yuuji wasn't dropping hints about the 'after party' at all, no matter how shamelessly she flirted or pouted, and it was starting to drive her a little crazy.

So the Akeno that Yuuji took by the hand and guided to the bedroom was a very horny Akeno, but when he stopped her at the door with a confused frown, she became a very confused Akeno. .

"Hang on, you're a little underdressed for this."

"... Underdressed?"

Akeno looked down at herself critically before she could stop to think about it, even as internally she tried to puzzle out how she could be underdressed for sex.

She hadn't exactly gotten all dolled up for her birthday, but _she_ made the dress she was wearing look good and she knew it, and Yuuji had told her as much.

… They _were_ having sex, right?

"Yeah, something's missing…"

Yuuji snapped his fingers, his expression blankly innocent.

The next thing she knew, she was being pressed gently against the shut door, face-first, and held there by two fingers held against her lower back, barely an inch away from her butt.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Yuuji's subtle smirk as he pulled something from his pocket, and then he walked her backwards a few paces.

"Close your eyes."

She did just that, confusion still written across her face as she tried to puzzle out just what was going on.

Then fabric fell across her eyes, and she felt something being tied in place at the back of her head.

"Much better."

… Oh.

Now sightless, Akeno listened as Yuuji opened the door, taking her by the hand and guiding her in.

She shivered as Yuuji went around behind her, hugging her closely as he whispered in her ear.

"Nah, changed my mind. Too many clothes here, but I think we'll keep the blindfold."

He proceeded to slowly strip her, taking a slow, sensual pace that he utterly refused to hurry along no matter how she squirmed or whined.

Then Yuuji just…

Stopped.

Utterly still, utterly silent, and for a moment, Akeno found herself completely, totally alone.

She had just opened her mouth to call out to Yuuji when he stepped in against her, pushing her once more against the door, but this time keeping her there with his mouth against hers.

A single hand pinned her arms above her head, and a leg slowly but insistently pushed its way between hers, lifting her just the tiniest bit off of her heels.

He wasn't gentle about his kiss, not at all.

There was no play between them, no slow and passionate dance.

Yuuji's tongue thrashed about in her mouth like an enraged serpent, coiling and striking and refusing her even the slightest opportunity to reciprocate.

He broke the kiss without warning, leaving her breathless and aching with need, and the whole time, he hadn't made a single sound.

When he pulled her off the door, Akeno nearly stumbled, but Yuuji continued the pull and caught her in his arms, holding her gently but firmly.

She melted against him, still gasping for breath, but suddenly feeling so safe and secure that she wouldn't have minded if Yuuji did nothing more but hold her close.

They stayed like that, for a while, one of his strong arms supporting her effortlessly as the other ran slow, comforting circles across her naked back.

As the strength returned to her limbs, he took her by the hand, leading her deeper into the room.

After a few paces, they stopped, and Yuuji released her hand, leaving Akeno in darkness and silence once more.

This time though, with her sight deprived, a new sense of hers came into play; scent.

She couldn't quite pinpoint it, whatever it was, she got the sense that by now, it had subtly permeated the room, and wasn't that a far more delightful thought than she'd ever considered.

One such scent was sweet and comforting, a flowery, nostalgic scent that reminded her of-

The thought fell from her mind as she caught wind of a deep, heady scent that she could only associate with arousal…

… It wasn't coming from her.

Well, not _just_ from her.

Then Yuuji was lifting her from the floor, hooking her beneath the knees and folding them up beside her body, a pose that bared her slit to the air, and would have simply dumped her on the floor without Yuuji behind her.

Akeno wouldn't have found the pose all that embarrassing, without the blindfold, but the way they were, _anyone_ could be watching her as she shamelessly bared her most secret place and she _wouldn't know_.

… She might lose it if she got any more turned on, and Yuuji hadn't even really gotten into the foreplay.

Then Yuuji stepped forward with her in his arms, and slowly lowered her.

The 'seat' he lowered her onto was soft and smooth, and Akeno bit back a moan as her breasts were slowly molded and squashed against another pair, ones that heaved and rippled in time with her own.

She was just making sense of the fact that she was straddling a naked woman when a warm body pressed up against her from behind, forcing her even more tightly against the now squirming, nubile shape against her.

At last Yuuji spoke again, his breath hot against her ear.

"Have fun, you two."

And just like that, he was gone, but before she could even begin to process that, soft hands were gliding their way up her back, warm lips were pressed against her bare throat, and a sweet voice was whispering against it.

"The next gift is a _who_ , not a what."

… Akeno's breath caught in her throat.

She'd chosen… today?

Akeno lifted her hands slowly, carefully, to trace the contours of smooth, delicate cheeks.

Then she tilted back the head within her grasp and lowered her own towards it in a deliberate, measured fashion, made cautious by her lack of vision.

… That had been her intention, but when their lips were close enough that they could practically taste each other, Akeno couldn't hold herself back any longer.

She kissed Rias hard, purring in delight as she caught her lover's bottom lip between both her own, sucking on it and flicking against it with her tongue.

Rias poked her tongue against her lips when a brief gap was provided, and so Akeno captured that instead, drawing it into her own mouth where she sucked and nibbled, prompting a slurred, sloppy moan from the other girl.

When at last the need for air forced them apart, Akeno quivered in wanton joy as hot saliva dribbled its way down her heaving breasts, intermingling with the thin sheen of sweat that slicked between her and the gasping body pressed against her.

She wasn't the only one who'd taken notice, and as her own hands dropped onto round, slim shoulders, the slender hands upon her back slowly traced their way up high, lightly gripping her shoulders from behind and guiding her to arch her back, just enough for-

Warm, wet lips closing around one swollen nipple.

Biting her lip as a low moan thrummed through her body, Akeno's grip on Rias tightened as the redhead suckled and nibbled at her breast, teasing it with feather-light pokes and caresses of her tongue.

Akeno's unkissed breast had just begun to ache from loneliness when Rias switched her attentions, coaxing a breathy sigh from Akeno.

As she looped one arm securely around Akeno's lower back, Rias brought the other around and cupped Akeno's wet but unattended breast, kneading and massaging supple flesh, brushing her thumb occasionally across her twitching nipple.

 _Oh, this is too…_

She was burning, a boiling, feverish heat pooling low in her core, and Rias was slowly stoking the flames higher, and higher-

Rias switched breasts once again, and Akeno gasped sharply as the suckling intensified, almost as if Rias was trying to draw her flesh into her mouth.

The arm around her lower back tightened its grip, and the other hand vanished from her tit, only to make itself known once again with fingernails lightly pressing against her upper back.

Her trembling grew out of control as Rias dragged her nails gently down the curve of her back, caught the swollen bud of her breast between her lips and squeezed.

With a long, shuddering moan, Akeno felt the heat within her boil over and gush free, bucking against Rias as stars burst forth from within the darkness of her vision.

… Akeno's wet core grinding against her stomach had already brought her teetering dangerously close to the brink, but Rias could only jerk away with a sharp inhale as her Queen's arousal flooded down between them, dripping down into her own aching slit.

Pushed over the edge by the unexpected stimulation, Rias buried her face into Akeno's moist cleavage as she climaxed with a muffled whine, Akeno breathlessly embracing her as they writhed against one another.

… They sagged against one another, naked and intertwined, gasping raggedly as their hearts pounded in sync.

* * *

As she got her breathing under control, Akeno remained as she was, simply indulging the feeling of Rias cuddling naked against her, her arms lightly draped over Rias' shoulders.

Rias, though, much as she was enjoying the sensations herself, had other plans, and slowly reached up to remove the blindfold.

Akeno blinked away the spots in her eyes as the light returned, and for the first time since she'd entered the room, met eyes with Rias.

The words on her lips died as her heart flip flopped within her breast.

Rias was gazing up at her with pretty cheeks flushed with arousal and slick with sweat, azure eyes glittering with joy and a tiny, worshipful smile on her face.

Akeno could only watch in rapt fascination as those delicately formed cheeks flushed darker, and darker, Rias going rigid as she stared back.

… She must have been making quite the expression herself, a dry voice whispered in the back of her mind.

It took her mind a moment to process the strange sound that broke the hushed silence, but it made sense when Rias blinked and gave a sheepish shrug of her shoulders with a giggle of her own.

"Ara ara, here we are blushing like innocent maidens in love."

Rias snickered in response.

"Well, I suppose at least _one_ of those things is true."

"... It is, isn't it? I love you, Rias."

"... Love you too, Akeno."

The kiss this time was much slower, more gentle now that she'd come down from her high, and could employ all of her senses once more.

… Just as good though.

When they broke, Akeno decided it was time to ask one of the questions that had been nagging at her.

"... Where did Yuuji go, by the way? He didn't get called away for something, did he?"

… She was starting to feel just the faintest hint of guilt.

It wasn't hard to guess how much of this was planned by him, but having him completely absent like that made her feel like she was doing something behind his back, ridiculous though the thought was.

"He'll be back."

Rias reassured her, easily guessing at what was bothering her.

"I was a little uncomfortable with the idea of him leaving, to be honest, but he was quite insistent that our first time together be just between the two of us, and, well, it was kind of hard to argue when…"

Rias blushed once again, ducking her head and squirming.

Even as that squirming sent a tingle through her sensitive skin, Akeno giggled as the answer made itself apparent.

"But every time you put up too much of an argument, he'd cut the conversation short with something kinky and try again later?"

It wasn't really a question… Yuuji did it to her all the time.

Rias could only nod, leaving just one question on her mind.

"Honestly… what did we ever do to deserve a man like him?"

Rias mirrored the fond smile upon her face.

"I don't know Akeno, but whatever it was… I'm nothing but grateful."

A warm, contemplative silence fell, Akeno absentmindedly stroking her King's river of crimson hair as Rias gently stroked her bare back.

Something caught the corner of Akeno's vision, and Rias tilted her head in puzzlement as the raven-haired beauty shrugged casually.

"What is it, Akeno?"

"Hm? Oh nothing, I only just realized you've been sitting on a chair this whole time."

"... Just now?"

"Well, aside from being blindfolded, I had someone way more important to focus on than any silly old chair."

Akeno commented with a smirk.

"That's fair. I'm probably more comfortable than your average cushion too."

Humming innocently in contemplation, Akeno gave little shake of her hips as Rias inhaled sharply, before nodding in agreement.

"And since wiggling against you like that felt pretty good, why don't we move over to the bed and see if we can make it feel even better?"

"I suppose we might as well."

Rias replied with the same indifference, before the girls met each other's eyes and giggled.

A sly, seductive smile on her face, Akeno shifted her arms until she could hold Rias by both shoulders and slowly slid her legs off of the lovely redheads lap without moving her upper body.

The feeling of their sweat-slicked legs slipping against each other left them both tingling anew, and left Akeno standing bent-over double, her face inches from Rias and her heavy breasts brushing against Rias' stiff nips as they hung.

It would be a shame not to take advantage, and so Rias did just that, closing the distance for another kiss.

As their tongues tangled together, Akeno slid one hand down Rias' wide hip and let it glide across her thigh, but when her hand mapped its way down to the crook of a knee, she lifted it up, guiding Rias to hook her long leg around her hip.

Rias did just that as Akeno repeated the process with the other leg, and then crossed them against Akeno's smooth back, allowing her Queen to straighten, slipping her arms behind Rias and easily lifting her from the chair.

With lips still pressing and tongue still dancing, Akeno walked them over to the bed, stepping onto it so that they could better take advantage of its size, and turning gently lowering her lover lengthwise across the soft sheets, with her own eager form pressed down atop Rias.

For a moment, at least, as Rias had other ideas, promptly rolling her over and sitting up, meeting her smile with a sultry smirk of her own, the slender fingers of one hand between Akeno's breasts lightly pinning her down.

Rias began to slowly rock her hips, gyrating sensuously as her wet core ground against the smooth, flat plane of Akeno's stomach.

Akeno had found that she liked being on top of Rias, but this… this was pretty good too.

As a groan slipped from her lips, Rias licked her own and took Akeno by the arms, pinning them above her head as she lowered in for another kiss, even as her hips continued their dance.

Akeno could only writhe and gasp beneath her beautiful King as Rias left her lips and trailed down, peppering kisses along her jawline until her plump lips found their destination, nibbling and sucking at Akeno's slim throat.

But, even as the wonderful sensations drew her closer and closer to the edge, Akeno was keenly aware that the bucking of Rias' hips was growing wilder and more frantic, and marshalled her willpower for one, single, desperate word.

"Rias."

Even if that was what she wanted, Akeno bit back a whine of protest as all motion from Rias came to an utter halt, leaving her aching with need.

A flicker of hesitance crossed her face as Rias lifted her head to meet her gaze, and vanished just as readily when Akeno lovingly whispered one word.

"Together?"

It was almost frantic, the way they pushed apart and seated themselves facing each other, as even those brief heartbeats without the other's touch felt like a bereft eternity.

Then they were back together, legs tangling together as needy slits pressed against each other, and though they couldn't keep in rhythm even if they tried, the way they bucked erratically against one another only seemed to make it better as the heat between them burned out of control.

Rias threw her head back a little too far as she moaned, unbalancing as she fell back against the bed.

Ever the dutiful Queen, Akeno pressed more tightly against her, lifting one of her King's long legs and molding against it, wrapping her arms around it and forcing it deep within the valley of her heaving breasts.

They screamed each other's names as they broke, convulsing spastically against one another as their lust overflowed, staining the bed and each other with their arousal as they peaked.

Breathless and dizzy, Akeno collapsed onto her back, still wrapped around her lover's shapely leg as she flopped.

Neither of them could quite manage to gasp out the words they wished to say, but they didn't need to anyways.

The harmony of two beating hearts said more than enough.

* * *

It had taken them awhile to be able to move, and when they did, the two girls hadn't managed much more than hauling themselves to the pillow, where they lay cuddled up against one another, silently basking in the presence of one another.

It certainly wasn't the first time she'd used Rias' tits as a pillow, or vice versa, but admittedly, Akeno was still feeling a little playful, and, well she could still smell their lingering arousal so she was feeling a little frisky once more.

Rias gasped as a warm mouth closed casually around the pert little crown of one breast, teasing and licking almost as if it was coincidence that things had ended up that way.

As she sedately molested her friend with her lips, one of Akeno's hands trailed gently down her stomach, inching its way towards her entrance.

She'd stop if Rias was too tired to continue of course, but this was a fun way to find out whether she was or not.

… She still did feel a little disappointed when a hand caught her own, arresting its downward trail.

But not too disappointed, considering the wonderful time they'd shared.

So admittedly, she wasn't really sure what to make of it when Rias twined their fingers together, doing the same with her other hand after a moment.

Artfully, Rias nudged her with one leg, though rather than push her away, Akeno found herself more fully on top of the playfully smiling redhead.

As Akeno met her impish smirk with a confused, albeit curious smile of her own, Rias slowly pulled their joined hands above the two of them on the bed, towards either post on the headboard.

Then she lifted them from the bed, just a little.

Akeno was just about to give voice to her curiosity when something moved.

"... Ara? What's this?"

 _Click._

Akeno's innocent expression gave way to eager anticipation as small circles of Gremory magic flared to life in a familiar gunmetal grey, and she quite abruptly found herself handcuffed, not only to the bed, but to _Rias_ , as the cuffs had clearly been designed for two.

Idly she noted that a figure eight shape like that wouldn't be practical without magic, or that the equally impractical, velvet grey coverings were actually quite practical, since they'd prevent chafing quite handily.

Then she turned her delighted gaze to the smirking beauty she was cuffed on top of, but Rias cut her off with a quick peck of the lips before she could say anything.

Perhaps she was still sensitive from being blindfolded, but it was the scent that caught her attention first.

Only a few months earlier, if someone had told Akeno that she'd find the scent of iron and gunpowder both deeply reassuring and incredibly arousing, she would have laughed in their face, though she at least had enough poise to be graceful about it.

And then Akeno wasn't thinking much of anything at all, as Rias got the work kissing and suckling her neck, and a calloused finger was tracing the curve of her spine.

She shivered in delight, almost giddy with joy at the chance to feel his hands again.

The finger trailed its way down to her backdoor and stopped, and Akeno held her breath, hoping he would-

Akeno couldn't quite muffle the mewl of protest as the finger reversed its direction, sliding its way back up.

She squirmed and panted as the finger trailed up, and then down, over and over and still, still he wouldn't touch her anywhere else, wouldn't speak, and she knew that even if she tried to turn her head, she wouldn't see him unless he allowed it.

It was maddening.

She was going to lose it.

She was... probably going to pull something with how hard her orgasm was going to be at the end of this.

The only people that knew her little secret were here, touching her.

That Akeno positively _loved_ it when Yuuji made her beg.

Give and take, push and pull… except with him.

To one man alone was she willing to wholly submit, revel in the idea of giving everything to him and to have it cherished and protected.

But not too soon, of course.

It was more fun when they dragged things out a little.

So she squirmed and gasped as Rias playfully nuzzled and that _one_ finger trailed up and down.

Without any sort of pause, that finger became a full hand, sliding down her back, and this time when it reached the juicy flesh of Akeno's rear, it inched its way past, a finger almost coincidentally poking into her pucker by less than an inch.

Then it was gone, and the hand continued roaming.

A needy moan slipped free as she writhed against Rias, who was also being dreadfully unfair right about now.

No matter how often she kissed, sucked or nibbled her neck, Rias was only keeping to the left side of her neck.

Which was positively throbbing with all the attention it was getting, but her right side was feeling just a little neglected-

Almost as if they'd been reading her thoughts, Rias withdrew her mouth with a smirk, and the hand settled on her lower back, pushing her tingling flesh more firmly against the body beneath her.

Then the most delightful heat was pushing its way against her entrance, and her walls twitched and quivered as something hot and hard filled her in one slow, steady motion.

Yuuji filled her to the brim and remained there, his rod not moving at all as he pressed against her from above.

Then hot breath was against her right ear, and Akeno gasped as he bit down in a not-quite gentle fashion on the right side of her neck, sucking hard and lashing against it with his teeth.

Still his hips remained still, and his cock remained stuffed within her.

… So she had been right, he was going to-

At her limit, Akeno opened her mouth to beg, _plead_ that he just fuck her already, but he was ready, and as her head twisted he twisted it further, not enough to hurt or strain but just enough to force her words back down her throat with his tongue.

Just like ages ago, at the start of the night, Yuuji left her breathless and aching, a cheerful smirk on his face as he met her eyes for the very first time.

Gently this time, he gave her a quick peck on the lips, and she was too breathless to do anything but twitch as his length pulled out, just enough to-

"Happy birthday, Akeno."

She had been wrong.

In the end, Yuuji didn't make her beg.

But he sure made her scream his name.

* * *

"Drink this."

Was the first thing she heard, as her eyes flickered open.

Idly, Akeno wondered what day it was, but decided that boring things such as time could wait until after whatever Yuuji was about to feed her mouth to mouth.

Eagerly she wrapped her arms around his neck as his lips pressed into her, and her eyes shot open wide as the slightly sweet, room temperature drink bubbled down her throat, escorted by Yuuji's tongue.

It brought with it a tingling sort of sensation that spread throughout her entire body like wildfire, and Akeno felt a surge of glee as quite suddenly, she was ready to go once more.

"Popular birthday drink that you're apparently supposed to serve mouth to mouth. It's a mild stimulant and aphrodisiac that needs saliva to activate."

Yuuji candidly explained.

"... That's hot."

"I thought so too. Which is why you should probably wake Rias up and feed her some. It's necessary to do it that way, but this way I get to watch you kiss so everyone wins."

"Mm, that does sound fun, doesn't it?"

"Oh, and since it was her idea to begin with, once Rias is awake you can help me bully the knowledge of who suggested it out of her."

"The sexy way?"

"The sexy way."

"I like the way you think, Yuuji-kun."

Agreement reached, Akeno crawled on all fours over to the blissfully snoozing Rias, taking the bottle from Yuuji as he passed it over.

Tenderly, she brushed a lock of hair away from the slumbering beauties face, and kissed her lightly on the cheek before crawling atop her.

Long lashes flickered open, and with a luxurious yawn, Rias peered sleepily up at the lovely figure straddling her.

"Good morning, Akeno."

"Ara, it's not morning yet, Rias."

"Hmm?"

"But I'm sure you're feeling just as _thirsty_ as I am, aren't you?"

Akeno said, giving the glass bottle a meaningful shake.

"Oh, we're using that? I guess that makes this the halfway point."

"I…"

Akeno shared a glance with Yuuji, who shrugged and smirked.

"Mmm~ I guess it does. So, drink up Buchou~"

Saying that, Akeno took a mouthful of the liquid and lowered her head, locking lips with the eager form beneath her.

Rias squirmed in delight as the tingling liquid trickled down her throat, and when it was gone, sucked lightly on Akeno's tongue.

Akeno retaliated, her tongue lashing and flicking about in her King's mouth, cupping her breast with one hand to squeeze and caress.

Rias surrendered almost immediately, a fond light in her eyes as she let her arms go limp beside her head, arching her back to press her breast deeper into Akeno's grasp.

Yuuji sat calmly and watched as Akeno orally dominated her pinned King, pressing her down onto the bed as she played with Rias, her eyes glinting wickedly.

When she drew back, Rias was gasping and her vision foggy with lust.

"Enjoy that?"

Rias panted, though her lips curled up at the edges.

"Ufufu~"

Sitting on her stomach, Akeno giggled like a naughty child.

Reaching down, she lifted the upper body of Rias off the bed, hugging her gently as he breathing calmed, all the while-

Rias moaned as a warm, toned body pressed against her from behind, slowly but sure pinning her arms behind her back.

"Y-Yuuji?"

Her attempt to turn to look at him was capitalized on (as she'd hoped), Yuuji kissing her roughly and commandingly, hooking his legs over hers while he was at it to spread them apart, after Akeno had crawled off her lap.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Akeno stretch herself out to lay prone upon the bed, just close enough to still be laid out between her long legs.

Smiling contemplatively, Akeno reached out with her other hand, one finger extended to gently flick up and down across Rias' clit.

Rias moaned into Yuuji's mouth, lightly biting down on his lip as her hips bucked ever so slightly.

Akeno hummed, her mind made up.

It was _right_ in front of her, after all, and she'd wanted to try for a while.

Be a waste not to, and it was her birthday, so she doubted anyone would think badly of her for wanting a little treat.

Catching the motion from the corner of his eye, Yuuji wisely broke the kiss, not sure how Rias would react to Akeno leaning in to drag an exploratory tongue across her King's slit.

The way she jolted with a sharp inhale suggested he'd made the right choice.

Both Rias and Yuuji were treated to the adorable and strangely lewd sight of Akeno's brow scrunched in thought, one finger to her lips as she pondered.

After a moment, Akeno's expression brightened, evidently deciding the experience was a positive one, and that's about the point she realized she was being watched, and ducked her head in embarrassment.

Rias gasped as that ducking of the head buried Akeno's face in her slit, and then again as Akeno giggled against her.

Admittedly, he was kind of curious, and so Yuuji leaned over Rias' shoulder to watch, his free hand absently playing with the tits of the trapped heiress.

This was kind of exciting, Akeno thought to herself as she thrust her tongue into Rias.

Rias was pretty tight, so there wasn't a lot of moving her tongue could do inside her, but it was kind of fun the way that the walls clung to her as she pulled her tongue free, almost as if Rias didn't want to let her go.

… Which made a lot of sense, Rias was kind of clingy.

In a good way.

"... It's kind of silly how cute this is."

Yuuji commented after a while, confusion coloring his tone as Akeno ate Rias out while giggling.

Rias just moaned.

* * *

Dawn wasn't that far off when they eventually tuckered out, collapsing in a sweaty, joyful pile, all tangled together on the bed.

He wasn't really sure who's hair he was stroking, as Yuuji stared up at the ceiling, Akeno's breathy voice sounded out from nearby.

"Thank you so much… both of you. I love you both, so, so much, and…"

…

…

Guess she didn't quite make it through, huh?

Into the darkness, Yuuji whispered back.

Whether he was heard or not was anyone's guess.

* * *

Calling it 'the morning after' probably wasn't accurate, as the sun had been peeking through the curtain's when they'd dozed off, and now it was about noon.

Whatever the case, Yuuji had already cleaned himself off and slipped away, so it was just Rias and Akeno in Akeno's bathroom.

As Akeno ran a brush through her long hair, she noticed the curious sight of Rias fidgeting as she reached into the cupboard under the sink and pulled out a neatly wrapped package she must have slipped in at some point during the day before.

"I know it's technically belated, but considering what we were doing last night, I thought it best to wait until after since I don't think I'm quite ready to… be on the receiving end, just yet."

Puzzled by the odd qualifier, Akeno slowly unwrapped the gift.

There was a fresh, silicone smell to the contraption, and she couldn't quite connect the dots at first.

A latex harness, centered around a piece of silicone that had a somewhat nostalgic shape to it, despite being a familiar violet in hue.

"Y-yes… Yuuji was the… I mean, the shape had to come from somewhere and it was made-to-order…"

A furiously blushing Rias clarified, somewhat unhelpfully.

Curious, Akeno wrapped one hand around the length of silicone and slowly pumped it up and down.

"Ara ara, they did a good job of getting the shape right…"

* * *

She'd been awfully patient, but he wasn't sure he'd been all that fair to her in return.

She might have been _willing_ to wait until Asia and Raynare had their chance, but that didn't mean the wait was particularly pleasant for her.

Part of the reason he'd used her as a guinea pig for the 'wing massage' experiment, but she'd already been surprisingly sensitive then…

In a few days, they'd be splitting up for their summer training camp, so he wanted to catch her before then.

… Come to think of it, he was the only one he didn't know the plan for…

But it involved Ruth and Azazel collaborating, a surprising and admittedly concerning idea.

Well… no sense worrying.

Pushing his curiosity aside for the time being, Yuuji reached out and knocked gently on the door.

"Yes, who is it?"

Raynare's muffled voice called out.

"It's me."

"Oh, come on in then!"

Raynare was slipping on her bra when the door opened, and casually stepped up and pressed her chest against him, giving him an expectant look.

As he clipped Raynare in, Yuuji turned over to look at Kalawarner, who had just slipped from the bathroom clad only in a towel that might have actually needed magic to stay in place, the way it was straining against her bust.

"Ah, good morning, Yuuji-sama, was there something we could help you with?"

"Yeah actually, got any plans for tomorrow, Kala?"

"Hmm…"

"Totally free!"

Raynare asserted, winking playfully at him.

"... There you have it."

Kalawarner responded, rolling her eyes with a smile.

"Great, let's go on a date."

"A d-date!?"

"Don't want to?"

"No!"

Yuuji cocked an eyebrow.

"I-I mean, no, I definitely want to, it's just…"

As Kalawarner shifted nervously, Raynare flounced off into the bathroom, making a show of turning the fan on as she closed the door.

The two of them left alone, Yuuji waited patiently for Kalawarner to speak.

With a hand to her chest, the tall beauty closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath.

"I have been… patient, have I not?"

She asked, her eyes still lightly shut.

"Yeah, I'd say so. Sorry I didn't ask sooner, but I think I've worked through the last of my hesitancy with this whole 'harem' thing."

"No, that is not what I meant. I think you've done just fine, Yuuji-sama. It is quite the… cultural shift, to be encouraged to go after whoever may catch your eye."

Yuuji remained silent, accepting her words but understanding there was more to come.

"A-and while I would be delighted to go on a date with you, the traditional purpose of a first date is not _strictly_ necessary, between you and I, so I was wondering if we could perhaps… skip that part, just for now?"

Kalawarner ventured hesitantly, her eyes still shut and her expression carefully neutral.

"... And start with what, then?"

"... The part that comes at the… end of the date? If the desire is mutual?"

… The end of the date?

Oh.

Huh, honestly, coming from Kala that was flattering as hell, and it was true that they didn't really need to 'try things out' with a first date.

Also, he didn't have anything witty to say, and he didn't want to tease her because it seemed like it took more than a little courage to give her desires voice, so…

So instead, as Kalawarner's eyes fluttered timidly open, she found the distance between them had vanished, right as his hands cupped her cheeks.

From the way she melted against him as their lips met, Yuuji decided she liked his answer just fine.

* * *

 **So the next chapter gets kinky fast, might have a small scene before the set-up, but we'll be getting into the good stuff pretty early before we get into the training camp.**

 **For real though, while I felt like Kala's choice to wait for Asia and Raynare to move forward with Yuuji first was one that fit her character, I regret how long it ended up taking.**

 **Also casually dropped in another Grisaia girl, with more on the way, so that was fun.**

 **That aside, work just seems to keep getting busier and busier, so I can't promise things will go back to a normal time frame anytime soon, but I'll do my best to publish chapters for my various stories as promptly as I can without burning out.**

 **Feel free to PM me with any other questions, the email notifications don't work anymore, but I've gotten in the habit of checking manually so I shouldn't take too long to reply.**

 **Cheers for now, and stay safe out there.**


End file.
